No Mere Coincidence
by SeaJay28
Summary: Chuck is a police officer living in Los Angeles.  His best friend and fellow cop, Bryce Larkin, has just been killed in the line of duty, and it is now up to Chuck to take care of Bryce's fiancée, Sarah, as it was Bryce's last request.
1. Found Love, Lost Life

_**Here is the first Chapter to my new fic, No Mere Coincidence. It is more Chuck/Sarah centric than my other one, and it is quite AU. I hope you like it. **_

**Found Love, Lost Life**

Officer Chuck Bartowski was sitting at the police Station one Saturday afternoon, waiting for Bryce Larkin to show up. If he didn't show up soon, they'd be late for patrol duty, which was strange, because Bryce was never late for anything.

At the very moment that Chuck had lost all patience, Bryce walked into the station, "Hey Chuck, sorry I'm late man."

"Where have you been?" Chuck asked, exasperated, "If you had shown up two minutes later, you would have been in deep trouble!"

"Hey, I'm sorry, pal, it's just that, I met this amazing girl today and…" He trailed off.

"Yeah, great, good for you. Let's go." Chuck cut him off and headed towards the door.

"Just because you're still dating your high school sweetheart doesn't mean that you can't be happy for me." Bryce retorted as he ran after Chuck.

"Oh, so I'm supposed to jump for joy each time you meet a new chick and she's really great? Let's see, how many times has that happened in the past week? _About a hundred! _Do you get my point?"

"Hey, I get it man, but this girl's different."

"Really? How so?" Chuck asked as he got into the car.

"Her name's Sarah and I actually like her. She's sweet, and she has a gorgeous smile. I asked her out on a date."

"You actually asked her out on a proper date? Where'd you meet her? If I may ask."

"At the yogurt shop, you know the one on Burbank Boulevard, across from the Buy More that we worked at when we were in High School?"

"Dude! You got a date with Sarah the Yogurt Girl?"

"Yeah, why, do you know her?"

"Well, I've seen her. God, she is one heck of a woman! I'm happy for ya, bro, even if it ends up being a one-night stand," Chuck gave his friend a punch in the arm.

"I don't think that this is going to be a one-night stand, Chuck."

Bryce and Chuck had always planned on working together when they grew up, so when Bryce signed up for the police academy, Chuck did too, even though he had won a scholarship to Stanford University. They were now both Los Angeles policemen, and within another year, they would both make detective.

Even though they were best friends, Chuck and Bryce could not have been more different when it came to women. Chuck was still dating his high school girlfriend, Jill Roberts, who had actually dumped Bryce for him in the eleventh grade. They couldn't be happier; they had a house, and good jobs. Jill was currently working at a research lab downtown, as she had her PhD in Biomedical Engineering.

Bryce wasn't much of a dater; no he was a… what's the word… a philanderer, maybe? He was known around the station as "Officer Gets-around." He had never had a steady relationship, as far as anybody knew, and it was the general consensus that he never would. There was actually a bet going at work to see how long Bryce could keep each "girlfriend."

**Three Weeks Later…**

"Chuck, Jill, I'd like you to meet Sarah. Sarah, this is my best friend and partner Chuck Bartowski and his girlfriend Jill Roberts." Bryce smilingly introduced them.

"It's so nice to finally meet you!" Sarah exclaimed as she hugged them, "Bryce has told me so much about you!"

Jill pulled Sarah into the living room, and Chuck handed Bryce a bottle of beer, "That must be one special girl if she still likes you after three weeks."

"You know what the coolest thing about it is?" Bryce added.

"What?"

"I think I'm in love with her, Chuck," Bryce said, smiling, "I think that she might be the one."

Later that night, Chuck and Jill were in bed.

"Jill, the world as we know it has come to an end."

"What do you mean?" Jill chuckled.

"Our boy Bryce is in love. Be afraid… be very afraid."

"Chuck…Sarah's a nice girl." Jill said, "We should be happy for Bryce."

"Oh, it wasn't that I didn't like Sarah," Chuck replied, "But I just don't get what a girl like her sees in Bryce."

"I do. Chuck, Bryce is a good guy. He's got a house, and a good job, and good looks, and…" Jill trailed off.

"Okay, okay, so he's dream boy. I'm worried about the week after they're married and he doesn't come home one night because he's at some stripper's apartment."

"Chuck!" Jill chided, hitting him on the chest, "He would NEVER do that! Come on, give the guy some credit. He's your best friend for God's sake."

Meanwhile, Bryce was walking Sarah up to her apartment.

"So, do really you think that your friends liked me?" Sarah asked as she cuddled closer into Bryce's chest as they walked up the stairs.

"Sarah, come on, get serious!" Bryce chuckled, "They loved you! Why would you even think otherwise?"

"I don't know, I mean, you and Chuck and Jill have been friends since High School. I kinda feel like the odd one out."

"Sarah," He took her by the shoulders and stood in front of her, "This isn't high school. They adore you, I promise." He kissed her, "And if they ever tell me something else, I swear I will stop being their friend."

"Aw, you'd do that for me?" She crooned as she kissed him again.

"You bet I would."

**Six months later…**

"Sarah Walker, will you marry me?"

"Oh my god, Bryce, Yes!" Sarah squealed. Bryce picked her up and twirled her around.

Chuck and Jill were standing about five feet away. Chuck leaned down and whispered, "I can't believe we just witnessed that."

"What?''

"Bryce Larkin proposing—I never thought I'd see the day." Then he raised his voice to get Bryce's attention, "Bryce!"

Bryce stopped making out with Sarah and looked up, "Yeah?"

"Congratulations, Buddy, I'm happy for you, but we need to go to work." He turned and kissed Jill. "I'll see you later."

"How late will you be working?" Jill asked as she kissed him back.

"Probably all night. I'll see you in the morning."

Later, at the station, Chuck was filing some papers. A female officer came up to him, "Hey Bartowski. Big drug operation. The chief wants you and Larkin to go along on the bust."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks Mariah." He finished filing the papers and then turned to see Bryce behind him.

"Dude! This is the best day ever!" Bryce's eyes were wild with excitement; first, my girlfriend accepts my proposal, and now, a drug bust! I heard that the big guns are gonna be ther too, like the FBI. I swear, if this day gets any better, I'll die."

_**Bad choice of words, Officer Larkin.**_

Chuck decided to call Jill before he left the station.

_Hey honey it's me._

_Hi sweetie, what's up?_

_Oh, Bryce and I are going on a drug bust, so I'm not sure when I'll be home._

_Okay, well, I'm with Sarah, we're shopping. You and Bryce stay safe okay? _

_Marry me, Jill._

_WHAT?_

_I'm sorry; I wanted it to be more romantic. I even have the ring in my top dresser drawer. It's just, my line of work is dangerous, and I couldn't wait another minute. Will you marry me, Jill?_

_Yes, Chuck, of course. I love you!_

Bryce was still standing near Chuck, and he looked like a lovesick puppy. He was staring at his "lucky picture" of Sarah. "Was that Jill?" He asked.

"Yeah, she's with Sarah. They're shopping or something." Chuck replied, still shocked at Jill's acceptance of his proposal.

"Really? She's with Sarah? Did Sarah say anything about me?" Bryce prodded, "Oh congratulations on finally popping the question to Jill."

Chuck smirked and punched Bryce playfully in the arm, "Shut up."

"What?"

"She's with Sarah? Did Sarah say anything about me? Oooh I'm sooo in looove." Chuck mocked, faking his best girly voice.

"Okay, now, YOU shut up!" Bryce punched Chuck in the arm, "I didn't sound anything like that."

Chuck just snickered and put his hand on Bryce's shoulder, guiding him toward the door.

The drug bust was a disaster. Gunfire was flying in every direction, and three cops were killed outright. Suddenly, Chuck saw someone pointing a gun at him. Just as the person was about to fire, Bryce jumped in front of Chuck, taking the bullet.

"NOOOO!" Chuck cried, "Bryce!" He dragged him into a safe corner.

"Get back in there, Chuck," Bryce groaned, "You don't need to stay with me. I'm already dead."

"Come on, come on, stay with me," Chuck begged. "You can't die. You just proposed to Sarah. You're gonna get married and live happily ever after and it'll be great."

Bryce drew a sharp breath, "It never would've worked. You know that. We never would've lasted."

"Hey, hey, that's not true. She needs ya man! She loves you!"

Bryce clenched his wound and looked at Chuck painfully, "You take care of her." He whispered as he drew his final breath.

"No Bryce, no, no no!" Chuck cried as he watched his best friend's head droop to the side. He fought back the tears as best as he could as he released the body and watched it fall to the floor. There was no time for mourning at this very moment though; Bryce was dead, there was nothing he could do about it, and there was other work to be done.

_**There you have Chapter 1. Since I'm not really a police officer, I don't actually know how these things go down, but don't bombard me with a ton of information on the subject. Just roll with it, please.**_

_**Reviews are appreciated.**_


	2. Beautiful Sorrow

_**Here's Chapter 2… Enjoy!**_

_**I don't own Chuck or any of the other Characters so far.  
**_

**Beautiful Sorrow**

Chuck got home at about 3 AM. . His heart was heavy and he still could not believe the events of the last several hours.

Jill was waiting up for him "Hello fiancé" she walked toward him, smiling. Her smile quickly faded when she saw the look on Chuck's face. "Chuck, what happened?"

"Jill, do you have Sarah's address?"

Jill got a horrified look on her face, "Oh no Chuck, no. Bryce…" She trailed off.

"Yeah." Chuck replied quietly.

"I have her address, just let me get it." She went and got it, and gave it to him, "Stay there as long as she needs you to." Jill told him as she walked him back over to the door.

Chuck walked up the stairs to Sarah's apartment in dread. The poor girl had just been proposed to by a man who was now dead. Bryce had died saving Chuck's life, and had entrusted Chuck with the one thing that meant everything to him. Chuck was going to do everything it took to honor that.

He knocked on Sarah's door. She opened it, obviously expecting Bryce. "Chuck." She said in quiet surprise, "what can I do for you? Did you and Jill have a fight?"

"Can I come in?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah, Bryce isn't here though." Sarah stepped away from the door to let Chuck through, "I tried calling him like ten times." She chuckled a little, but her face darkened when she noticed Chuck's expression, "Chuck, are you alright?"

He stood in the entry way of her studio apartment, nervously fidgeting with is hat, "Sarah, I don't know how to tell you this, but…" He gulped, "Bryce is dead."

Sarah took a step back, "You're joking, right?"

"Sarah, I wouldn't joke about something like this. Not to you. I'm sorry."

Oh my god." She said softly, "Oh my god! She cried, "No! Chuck, NO!" She crashed into his arms and he embraced her, rocking her back and forth. Sarah sobbed into Chuck's shirt, her tears soaking into the blue material.

Chuck slept on Sarah's couch that night. He had finally gotten Sarah to go to sleep, telling her that staying awake wasn't going to change anything, and that she needed her sleep. When he said that, she had pulled him down on the bed beside her and simply said, "Hold me."

He held her until she was asleep, and then made himself comfortable on the couch. He woke up bright and early the next morning, and seeing that Sarah was still asleep, went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. It was Saturday, which was one of his days off. Usually days off consisted of sleeping in and then playing video games all day with his best friend. Today was going to be different though; his best friend was dead, and today was the day that he had to start making arrangements for a funeral, since Bryce's family lived in Connecticut.

Sarah woke up about a half an hour after Chuck, who saw her stirring and walked over to her.

"Hey," he said as he sat down on the bed, "How are you doing?"

"My head hurts, my rent is due, and my fiancé just died. You tell me how I'm doing." She answered bitterly.

"Okay, bad question. Can I get you a cup of coffee?" Chuck asked kindly.

"No, I don't want anything. I just want him back." Tears began to roll down her face, "I just can't believe that he's really gone."

Chuck took her in his arms and kissed her on the cheek. "He's not coming back, Sarah, but if it makes you feel any better, I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

Sarah backed away, "How do you know that? You're a cop, too. You could get killed any day, just like Bryce."

"No I won't, because I'm quitting the force."

"Chuck, why?"

"Because Bryce's last request was for me to look out for you, and I'll be damned if I don't honor that."

"You're quitting the force…for me?" Sarah faltered.

"For Bryce." Chuck corrected, "I'm doing it for Bryce." He hugged her again, "I should probably go." He stood up to leave, but as he walked toward the door, he heard her voice, muffled against the pillows, saying,

"Thank you, Chuck."

He turned around to see her tear-filled blue eyes pointed directly at him. He furrowed his brow and pursed his lips to keep from crying, "You're welcome," He answered quietly, and then once again turned and went out the door.

"Chuck?" She called right before he closed the door.

"Yeah?"

"I—don't want to see him. I mean, see him dead. I don't think I can handle it."

Chuck understood where Sarah was coming from, "Okay," he said.

When he got home, he was greeted by Jill. "Hey, sweetie," She hugged him and he kissed her on the cheek, "How did it go? How is she?" She asked him.

Chuck sighed, "She's a wreck. She was still in bed when I left, and I assume she's probably going to stay there all day."

"How are you holding up?" Jill asked as she cupped his cheek in her hand.

He put his hand on top of hers, and took a deep breath, "I'm…hanging in there. I'll have plenty of time to mourn later. Right now I think I just need to stay strong for everyone."

Jill glanced at her watch, "I'm glad you're okay," Jill said, "'Cause I have to go to work. Maybe you should check on Sarah periodically throughout the day."

Chuck gave her another kiss on the cheek, "Okay, I'll do that," he smiled, "Now I'd like to go change into something a little more…civilian. He motioned at his rumpled police uniform, "Have a good day at work."

"Okay," Jill gave him another kiss on the lips before he walked up the stairs to their bedroom and she walked out the door.

Several days later, Chuck was getting ready to go to the wake. Jill had to work that day, no exceptions, so she unfortunately couldn't make it. He was attempting to tie his tie, but for some reason he couldn't get it right. He had just undone it for the seventh time when he heard the doorbell ring. He walked down the stairs, still fumbling with his tie as he looked though the peephole; it was Sarah. He opened the door.

"Hey Sarah," He greeted.

"Hi, sorry to drop by like this, I'm sure I look awful."

"No, no, you look fine," Chuck assured her; He opened the door a little wider to let her in.

"Thanks for the compliment," she sniffled, "but it would only be true if red, puffy, eyes were in style, and they're not."

Chuck then went back to fumbling with his tie, "Sorry, I just can't seem to get this tie right." He apologized,

"Here, let me help you with that," She grabbed his tie and with a few quick motions, had it tied perfectly.

"How you women do that, I'll never know!" He muttered. "Thank you. Now what can I do for you?" He asked kindly.

"I was wondering if you could take me to the funeral home. I'm too upset to drive. I took a taxi here, but I could really use a friend."

Chuck was a little taken aback by her request. He was silent for a moment, then said, "Are you sure that's what you want, Sarah? I thought that you didn't want to see him like that."

Tears once again filled her eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure. I need closure."

"Okay, let's go." He grabbed his hat and they walked out the door. They were walking to the car when he stopped, "Wait, I should probably grab my keys. Gotta get there somehow."

Sarah watched Chuck as he ran back into the house. For a moment, she thought about backing out. She could run away and be in a taxi before Chuck even came out of his house, but she decided against it. She needed to do this; she needed to say goodbye to Bryce.

Sarah waited until almost everyone had left the funeral home before she approached Bryce's casket. She sat down, and took one of Bryce's cold, lifeless hands in her own. She didn't cry, not even a sniffle. She just sat there, stroking his hand gently. Chuck stood behind her, and finally put a hand on her shoulder.

"He was a good man, Sarah, and he died loving you." Chuck wasn't sure why he said that, but he hoped that Sarah would understand where he was coming from.

"I know," She whispered.

_**Flashback: Seven months previous—**_

_It was a normal day at the yogurt shop. First, the grandmother came in with her three bouncy grandchildren who couldn't make up their minds about what flavor of yogurt they wanted. Then, it was the train of employees from the plaza. Boy, those Nerd Herders from the Buy More were creepy! Following them was the usual trail of normal people who always needed one more second to decide. After that was her favorite part of the day—when the police officers came. They didn't always show up, but when they did, they were such a reprieve from all the crazies that she had to deal with for the rest of the day. So when Officer Bryce Larkin walked in, a bit earlier than usual and minus his taller half, Sarah was very happy. However, she wondered where Chuck was._

"_The regular for you, Officer Larkin, Vanilla with bananas and strawberries on top?" She asked, smiling._

"_Actually, I'm kinda thinking I want to live on the edge today. What do you suggest?" Bryce smiled at her._

"_I like our signature flavor, the Orange Orange," She said, "But you don't like orange, so how about the raspberry with some chocolate shavings?"_

"_Sounds good to me. Interesting how you knew that I didn't like orange, how did you know that?"_

_She laughed as she chopped the strawberries, "I read people's minds."_

"_Seriously, how did you know?" He prodded._

"_Honestly? Your partner told me. By the way, where is he?"_

"_He's waiting for me at the station." Bryce replied, "He's gonna be so mad at me for coming here without him."_

"_Yeah," he does love his mango vanilla with dark and white chocolate shavings," She chuckled._

"_He also thinks that you have a crush on him," He joked._

"_Oh come on, Bryce, you know that I only have eyes for you." She teased._

"_Well, in that case, would you like to go out sometime?" Bryce asked._

_Sarah jerked her head up in surprise, "Like on a date?"_

"_Yeah, that is, if you're available." _

"_Okay." She smiled sweetly._

_**End of Flashback**_

"He looks so peaceful." Sarah said softly as she took her hands off of his, "I never saw him this peaceful, not even when he slept." She stood up, but then leaned over to give Bryce a kiss on his nose, "I love you baby," She whispered, "I loved you from the moment you took me on our first date, and I always will." She stood up and turned towards Chuck. He hugged her and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"Can we go home now?" She asked.

"Yeah." Chuck said softly.

The drive home was silent. Chuck kept his eyes on the road and Sarah stared out her window.

"Do you want to come in?" Chuck asked when they arrived back at his house, "If you don't feel like being up and about you can always lie in the guest bedroom if you'd like to."

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I'd like that."

When Jill came home, Chuck was sitting in the den, typing an email. She walked in and surprised him with a kiss on the lips.

"Mmm, how was your day?" He asked, kissing her again.

"Hard. I just couldn't stop thinking about Bryce." She replied, "How was yours?"

"Same, Sarah came over and asked me to drive her to the wake."

"Really? Did you take her?"

"Of course I did. Oh, by the way, she's up in the guest bedroom."

"What's she doing up there?" Jill inquired.

"Probably sleeping," Chuck guessed.

Sarah wasn't sleeping; she was lying on the bed looking at the various pictures that hung on the walls in the guest bedroom. There were lots of pictures of Chuck and Jill, a few of Chuck and Bryce, and even a few of all three of them. There were also pictures of Chuck and a girl that Sarah assumed was Chuck's sister. She got off of the bed and walked around the room. She was studying a picture of what looked like Chuck in high school, when she spotted a small picture tucked into a frame twice its size. It was a picture of her and Bryce at Christmas. Sarah traced the outline of their faces. Tears started rolling down her cheeks; she and Bryce looked so happy in that picture—almost too happy. Suddenly it it her like a freight train-Bryce was the world to her, and now he was gone, which meant her world was gone. She couldn't take it anymore. She had stifled her anger for too long. She clenched the picture in both her hands and then hurled it towards the wall, causing the frame to shatter.

Chuck and Jill heard the commotion upstairs, and they both ran up to see what was going on. They opened the door to find Sarah curled up on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Jill stood in the doorway while Chuck walked in and sat down on the bed next to her. He put his hand on her back.

"Sarah, hey, do you want to talk?" He said softly as he rubbed her back in small circles.

"Go away," She sobbed, "Just get THE HELL away from me. I don't want to talk; I just want to be alone."

"But you're not alone," Chuck pointed out, "I'm right here with you, Sarah. Both Jill and I are."

It was at that moment that she realized that while she had known Bryce for a little over six months, Chuck had known him for years. She also realized how much he must be hurting; to see his best friend get shot in cold blood and watch him die—Sarah shuddered at the thought. Then to do what he did that night by coming to her place and taking care of her; and now sitting here and comforting her- she had never met a more selfless man. She decided right then and there that it was time for her to stop feeling sorry for herself and start helping Chuck cope with his grief. He had done more than enough for her already, now it was time for her to help him.

She lifted her head and turned to look at him. His eyes were brimming with tears. She lay there just staring at him for a moment, then jerked up and threw her arms around him. He was initially surprised at her sudden embrace, but after a moment, he reluctantly hugged her back. It was a little more awkward for him than previous encounters since Jill was looking on.

"Thank you Chuck," Sarah sniffled, her voice muffled from her face being pressed into his shirt.

"Hey, that's what friends are for." He replied.

Jill was still standing in the doorway, watching them, her eyes glistening from unshed tears. She had been close to Bryce as well, but not like Chuck had been, and while she knew that normally a woman would be jealous in this current situation; seeing their fiancé hugging another woman, oddly, it was comforting to her. Jill wasn't very good with emotional stuff, and even though she was sad that Bryce had died, she didn't think that she could be very emotionally supportive of Chuck or Sarah as they grieved, so she was glad that Chuck and Sarah had each other to lean on.

Jill broke her train of thought when she realized that Chuck and Sarah were still holding each other like nothing else mattered. Okay, fine! She relented, _maybe she was a just a little bit jealous…_

_**There you have Chapter 2… Hope you liked it. Thanks to Wepdiggy for the flashback suggestion. **_

_**Please Review or PM… It really means a lot to hear what you guys think. PLEASE no hate mail. If you really don't like my story, then just don't read it.**_


	3. That's what Friends are For

_**Here's Chapter 3… I'm not that thrilled about how this chapter turned out, so be advised, I might rewrite it. Tell me what you think.**_

_**Don't own Chuck or any of its characters.**_

**That's What Friends are For**

**Four weeks later…**

It was four weeks after Bryce's tragic death, and today, Chuck was done with Cop life for good.

"You're sure about this son?" The police chief asked skeptically.

"I'm sure, Big Al, it's just, now that Bryce is dead, I figured that maybe I should start pursuing my dreams."

"You're a good man, Bartowski, and I wish you the best of luck." Big Al stood up and shook Chuck's hand.

"Thank you sir," Chuck replied, and then left the chief's office. He walked out of the station with a new air about him. This truly was going to be the beginning of something great. He was, however, concerned about Sarah. It had been about a week since he had heard from her, and he was starting to get worried. She wasn't returning any of his calls, she wasn't showing up at work, and she wasn't answering her doorbell. No one knew where she was, and Chuck had decided that if she kept this up much longer, he was going to file a missing persons report.

He was just getting into his car when his cell phone rang, it was Jill. She was informing him that she had been asked to speak at a seminar up at her alma mater, Stanford University. She had to leave that night. She knew it was short notice, but the original speaker, Jill's boss, was unable to attend for medical reasons. Jill wanted to know if Chuck would be okay for a week while she was gone.

"Yeah, honey, I'm sure I'll survive." He chuckled, "I love you, have a good time in Palo Alto."

When he hung up, he immediately dialed Sarah. It rolled right over to voicemail.

_Hey, it's Sarah; leave a message (beep)_

_Hey Sarah, it's Chuck. Look, I'm getting worried about you, so if you could just give me a call back, I'd really appreciate it. Oh hey, I quit the force today. Just thought you'd like to know. Anyway, give me a call as soon as possible._

Then he had an idea. He was sure that Bryce had had a key for Sarah's apartment, so what if he could find it? Her apartment might hold some clue as to where she was.

He sped over to Bryce's house and Bryce's Brother, who was staying at the house, let him in. Everything was still just as Bryce had left it.

He went to Bryce's room, because his keys were always kept in a bowl on his desk in there. Sure enough, there was a key ring. All of the keys were all labeled so that he wouldn't get them mixed up.

Chuck grabbed the keys and was about to leave when he noticed a note on the desk. It simply read:

_Note to Self: Remind CB to finish CD ASAP._

_**Flashback: Two and a half weeks before Bryce's death:**_

"_Buddy, can you do me a favor?" Bryce asked of Chuck._

"_Yeah, sure Bryce."_

"_I want to make a mix CD for Sarah. See, she's not really into music, but since I am, she wants to learn more about it. I was wondering if you could put a playlist together and burn it onto a CD, since you're good at that stuff." Bryce said._

"_Yeah, man, I'd be glad to. What kind of songs should I put on there?" Chuck asked._

"_Just songs that tell her how I feel about her." Bryce replied, "And one thing, could you get it done as soon as possible?"_

_**End of flashback**_

Chuck picked the note up. Damn it, the mix CD. How could he have forgotten? It was still only about half done. Well, what was the use in finishing it now? He crumpled up the note and threw it in the trash.

With the key, Chuck was able to get into Sarah's apartment complex. He went up the stairs and unlocked her door.

"Sarah?" He called as he walked in, "Hello?"

Nobody was there. Chuck decided to see if she had any numbers on her caller ID, or messages on her answering machine giving a clue as to where she might be.

He pushed the message button.

_You have… nineteen unheard messages. To hear your messages, press one. _

Chuck pressed one.

_Sarah! Hey, it's Chuck…message deleted_

_Hi Sarah, Chuck here…message deleted_

_Hey, Sarah, Chuck again, sorry to bother you, but…message deleted_

_This is an important message regarding your credit card debt…_okay better keep that one.

_Sarah, Hi, it's me, you know, Chuck…message deleted_

That happened sixteen more times before he got to the saved messages.

_First saved message (beep) Sarah, It's John. Just calling with the directions that you asked for…_

Chuck grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote down the directions. He had a house number and street name, but no city. But no matter; it would be pretty easy to figure out. They were obviously driving directions, so he knew that it was probably not too far away. The message ended, and Chuck leapt up and headed for the door, forgetting to turn the answering machine off. He was just about to turn the door knob when he heard the next message playing.

_Next saved message…_

He chuckled to himself for being so forgetful and went back to turn it off, but he stopped when he heard the voice.

_Hi Sarah, it's Bryce. I know you're not home, but I called your house anyway because I actually wanted to leave you a voicemail. _

_I wanted you to know how much I love you. You are the most amazing woman that I have ever met. You changed my life forever, and I feel like the happiest man alive to know that one day, I will call you my wife. I seriously don't know what you're getting out of the deal, because I really don't deserve you, but I don't care. I'm sure that every day that we're together, you will make me a better man. I just want you to know that no matter what happens -even if I die today, I will die the luckiest man in the world, because I died loving you."_

Chuck stopped the playback. He flipped through her caller I.D. To see when the last time Bryce had called her was. He was shocked at what he found. Bryce left that message just shortly before the bust.

The last sentence rang through Chuck's head again, "_If I die today, I will die the luckiest man in the world, because I died loving you." _How those words must have cut Sarah like a knife. Bryce said that to her, and then it actually happened to him. _Wow, _Chuck thought, _what a twist of fate._

"Chuck?"

Chuck whirled around to see Sarah standing in the doorway, a duffel bag over her shoulder.

"Chuck, what are you doing here?"

"Oh my god I was so worried about you!" He breathed as he rushed over to her and took her in his arms, "Where were you?"

She hesitantly hugged him back, "I was at my step brother's cabin. I'm really sorry, Chuck. There was no cell phone service there, and I stayed a little longer than I planned to. I'm really sorry that I freaked you out."

He held her by her shoulders at arms length, "Don't ever scare me like that again. Got it?"

"Got it." She answered seriously, then she walked into her apartment and set her bag on her bed, "I haven't even checked my messages yet," she chuckled, taking her phone out of her purse. She turned it on, and the screen read _45 missed calls 38 new messages._

"Ouch, that's not good," she mumbled.

Chuck laughed, "I was that bad, huh?"

"Thirty-eight new messages, Chuck? I know that you didn't really want to be a police officer, but I didn't know that_ stalking_ was on your list of desired professions." She joked and smacked him lightly on the chest with the back of her hand.

He playfully grabbed her wrist, "Hey," he teased, "That was uncalled for." He released her, and then plopped down on her bed, "So you have a step-brother? I didn't know that."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot you don't know about me." She chuckled, "John's a lot older than me. My mom married this guy, Paul Casey, who was like, twenty-five years older than her, and his son is about twelve years older than me. We are each other's only siblings, though, so we are kind of close because of that. Our parents divorced, but Paul's son John and I still hang out."

There was a bit of silence as the both sat there, then Sarah continued, "There's also a lot that I don't know about you." She pointed out.

Chuck smiled at her, "Give it time, Sarah. We've only known each other for eight months."

Sarah yawned, "Gosh, I'm tired. I think I need a nap."

Chuck put his arm around her and kissed her lightly on the cheek, "Okay, I'll leave. Have a good rest." He stood up.

"Hey, Chuck thanks for being so concerned about me." Sarah said.

"You're welcome; just don't do it again. I think Bryce would seriously come back to haunt me if I let anything happen to you."

She laughed softly, "Goodbye Chuck."

"See ya, Sarah."

x-x-x-x-x-x

When Chuck got home, Jill was packing her suitcase.

"Hey sweetheart." He kissed her.

"Hi yourself," She giggled as she kissed him again.

"How's the packing going? Do you need my help?"

"Fine and no, I don't need your help."

"Are you sure you remembered everything? Shirts, pants, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss…" He trailed off.

"Chuck I've got it."

"Hairbrush?" He said as he took her in his arms and started walking her towards the bed.

"Chuck…" She fell back onto the bed.

"Blow dryer?"

"I've got my blow dryer, too, Chuck."

He kissed her jaw line, "So you're sure you're not forgetting anything?"

"Well," she giggled, "apparently you think I'm forgetting something. Do you mind reminding me of what it is?"

He chuckled as he nuzzled her neck, "I don't mind at all, Doctor Roberts."

x-x-x-x-x-x

The next day was pretty boring for Chuck. He played video games, and then went to the beach for a while. He wanted to hang out with Sarah, since she was like, his only friend, but she was working so he decided stop by the Orange Orange for a refreshing vanilla mango fro-yo with dark and white chocolate shavings—his favorite.

When Sarah saw him walk in, she looked up and beamed, "Hey, how are you?"

"Lonely and bored." He sighed, "How's things here at the old Double-O?"

Sarah giggled, "That makes it sound like there's a secret spy base here or something."

"Really? How so?" Chuck asked.

"DOUBLE O, Chuck, like James Bond."

Chuck laughed, "Special Agent Sarah Walker, saving the world one frozen yogurt treat at a time. I like it."

"Yeah, it does have a ring to it." She paused for about thirty seconds, "So anyway, what's on the agenda for you? You out job-hunting?"

"Nah," Chuck replied, "I figured I'd give myself a few days before I went back to real life."

Sarah nodded, "Makes sense," She said, "So what are you doing tonight?"

Chuck stopped eating his yogurt and glared at her quizzically.

"I-I mean for supper." She stuttered, realizing how her question could give a person the wrong idea.

"I don't know," Chuck mumbled as he licked the last of the yogurt off his spoon, "I'll probably order pizza or something."

x-x-x-x-x-x

That night Chuck sat in his living room, clad in sweatpants and an X-box t-shirt, watching some documentary about, well, something; he wasn't actually paying attention. He didn't feel like ordering pizza, but he didn't know what else to eat. Just then, He heard the doorbell ring and got up to answer it. It was Sarah, holding a Chinese takeout bag in her hand.

"Sarah, hi! Come in," Chuck greeted.

She walked in, "Bryce used to tell me that you didn't eat much when Jill was gone, and he would always order you sizzling shrimp, so here," She pushed the bag towards Chuck, who took it from her.

"Wow, thank you, Sarah. I really appreciate that. Do you want some?"

"Ah, no, I ate before I came over." She replied.

"Aw, come on!" He wheedled as he went into the kitchen, "You can't buy Chuck Bartowski a whole bag of sizzling shrimp and expect him to eat it all without sharing!"

Sarah smiled in surrender, "Okay fine."

They stood in the kitchen in, eating the shrimp right out of the take out carton.

"Wow, this is really good!" Sarah exclaimed at one point, "I could eat this all the time."

They finished their supper and then awkwardly stood across from each other at the island.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" Chuck asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah sure." Sarah replied.

Sarah picked some action flick that Chuck had never got around to watching. It was a lot of fun, but about three-quarters of the way through the movie, Chuck heard a soft snore beside him. Turning his head, he saw that Sarah was fast asleep. He smiled and turned the TV off. Picking her up, he carried her into the guest bedroom and laid her on the bed. He then covered her with a blanket and left her to sleep.

The next morning, when Sarah woke, she wondered where she was. Then she realized that she had fallen asleep at Chuck's house and he had probably carried her up to the guest bedroom. She wanted to go back to sleep, but the noise of the coffee grinder made her get up. Chuck had put some clothes on the dresser for her, with a note:

_You fell asleep and I didn't want to wake you. Here are some fresh clothes. They're Jill's. Just make sure to return them before she gets back and it won't be a problem, Lol. -Chuck_

Sarah smiled. Chuck was a good friend. No scratch that, she looked at the pile of clothes that he had lovingly set out for her, and now she smelled the odor of freshly made pancakes (her favorite breakfast) wafting up to her room. Yeah, Chuck definitely wasn't a good friend, Chuck was a _great_ friend.

_**Please tell me what you think. By the way, thank you all for your reviews!  
**_


	4. Private Property and Stolen Goods

_**Here's my next chapter… I hope you enjoy it. It kind of has a lot of ideas, but I think it's pretty good. Tell me what you think. The title kind of has a double meaning, tell me if you can figure it out ;)**_

_**I don't own Chuck.**_

**Private Property and Stolen Goods**

When Sarah walked into the kitchen that morning, Chuck was having a phone conversation with Jill. His back was toward her, but when he heard her enter, he turned his head briefly and greeted her with a smile.

Sarah smiled back, but only for a second, because an awful stench was filling the room. She saw smoke coming from the griddle and pointed to it wordlessly.

He saw her point, and noticed the smoking griddle. "Hey, honey, I've gotta go, my pancakes are burning. Okay, see ya soon. Love you too, bye." He hung up the phone and tended to the pancakes.

"Dammit," He cussed under his breath, "These are too burnt to eat. I just can't seem to get 'em right." He flipped them off of the griddle with his spatula right into the trash can. He glanced over his shoulder at her and grinned sheepishly, "If you haven't noticed, I'm not much of a cook."

Sarah had a humored expression on her face, "Chuck, it's okay."

"No—no it's not. I should be able to make something as simple as a pancake for crying out loud." He began pouring more batter into the pan.

She got up off of her stool and took the spatula from him, "Here, let me," She said.

"See, Chuck, making pancakes isn't rocket science." She lifted up the edge of one of the pancakes slightly to check for doneness, "You just have to pay attention to them." When one side was brown enough, she flipped them over. She continued to instruct Chuck on the ancient art of pancake-making, while he stood behind her, observing.

When the pancakes were done cooking, she took them off the griddle and flipped them onto a nearby plate. "There you have it," She finished, "The perfect pancake."

"Wow,'' Chuck said in amazement, "You are like, the wizard of pancake-making."

"It takes practice." She replied, "Now it's your turn. You try it while I go and eat these."

Chuck successfully fried his pancakes and sat down across the table from Sarah, who was nearly done eating hers.

"So, are you working today?" Chuck asked.

"Nope, I've gotta go grocery shopping, and pay my rent, and call my mom—it's her birthday, and…" she paused, "what was the other thing that I needed to do today?" She mindlessly said out loud.

Chuck shrugged

"Oh, I need to take my car in for maintenance, and then I need to go to the Buy More; my cell phone is broken."

"Really?" Chuck asked his mouth full, "What's wrong with it?"

"I don't know. It's just—broken. If I knew what was wrong with it, then I could probably fix it."

Chuck swallowed his bite, and then said, "Here, let me see it." He took another bite, then reached his hand out beckoningly,

"Why?"

"Just let me see it!" He said with his mouth full.

"No," She giggled, "I don't want you wrecking it!"

"Sarah, trust me, let me see it."

She took the phone out of her pocket, "Fine," she huffed, "But if you hurt it, you're paying for it." She handed it to him.

Chuck put his fork down and inspected it for a moment, "There's a common problem with this phone, which is probably the case with yours." He got up, went to a drawer and pulled out a little screwdriver, "You just need to pop the back off, give this screw a couple of turns, and…" He popped the back back on, "There you go, good as new."

She chuckled as she took it from him, "Where did you learn that?"

"I used to fix all of my cop buddies' stuff, and I got to be pretty familiar with common cell phone problems . But yeah, I'm just good with computer-related stuff. I've written my own video games, I've even written a computer virus, known to my friends as 'The Bartowski Special'."

"Wow, neat. Well, thanks for fixing my phone."

"Anytime," He smiled.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Sarah left after breakfast, and Chuck sat on the couch all morning eating cheese balls. He missed Jill. She hadn't even been gone for 48 hours yet and it seemd to him like she'd been gone for years.

When Sarah returned around 3:00 in the afternoon, she found Chuck asleep on the couch, holding the cheese ball container for dear life. There was also an empty beef jerky bag and five soda cans lying on the floor.

Sarah put her hands on her hips, "Okay, now this is sad."

"Huh?" Chuck woke with a start.

She grabbed him by his arm and pulled him up, "Come on, let's go."

"Go where?" he asked groggily.

"Somewhere; anywhere, I don't care. You need to get out of this house."

"Can't," he groaned, "I don't wanna go anywhere. I miss Jill and I just wanna stay here and feel sorry for myself."

"I know you miss Jill, but she's gonna be home in a few days." Sarah paused for a moment, and looked straight at him, "I wasn't so lucky, you know."

Chuck looked at her and could tell that her eyes were brimming with tears. She was still clenching his harm in both of her hands, and he took his free hand and placed it on her arm, "Okay, let's go."

They got into Sarah's black Porsche, but before she started the engine, she turned to Chuck, "Where should we go?"

Chuck thought for a moment, "Do you like the arcade? Cause we could go to the Pier." He suggested, "Or we could go to the batting cages."

"The Pier sounds fun." Sarah said.

They spent a few hours at the Pier, playing games and eating greasy food. They talked and laughed, and just had a good time. It was the first time that either of them had felt like this since Bryce died.

When it was time to leave, Sarah linked her arm through his, "Thank you, that was a lot of fun." She smiled.

He looked down at her and smiled back, "Well thank you for making me come."

They neared the car, and Chuck turned toward her again, "Mind if I drive?" he asked.

Sarah chuckled, "Chuck, not even Bryce was allowed to drive my baby."

"Ookay, point taken," he mumbled, but then said, "There's just—something that I want to show you."

Sarah looked lovingly at her car, and then back at him, "Okay fine, but you put one scratch on her and you're a dead man."

"You underestimate my abilities, Sarah." He said as he got into the driver's seat, "You do realize you're talking to an ex-cop?"

Sarah just laughed.

They drove in silence for most of the way, but Sarah finally had to ask, "Chuck, where are we going?''

He glanced at her and then redirected his gaze back to the road, "I want to show you something that I've never shown anybody."

"Not even Jill?" She asked.

"Not even Jill."

They pulled up to a beach and got out of the car. Sarah looked around, "Chuck, this is beautiful."

"Welcome to my secret place." He smiled.

Sarah scoffed, "Secret place—you sound like an eight year old girl."

The both took their shoes off, then Chuck took her hand, "Come on."

They walked silently for a while, taking in the ocean and the stunning sunset, then Chuck spoke.

"The only non-family member that knew that I came here was Bryce." He said, "He told me that I should propose to Jill here, but I didn't want to bring her here."

"Why not?"

He turned his head toward her, "I come here to be alone and think. If Jill knew, she would probably come here too. What if we had a big fight or something? If I told her, then I would have no place to go and cool off."

"It's beautiful, Chuck," Sarah breathed. "Why are you showing it to me?"

"Because you're my best friend, Sarah, and you need to know in case Jill and I have a fight or something. That way, you can come here and straighten me out."

Sarah knew that Chuck had intended for that statement to be humorus, but he had just called her his best friend. _His BEST FRIEND!" _Sarah felt all tingly inside. Heck, no one had even sincerely called her their friend, let alone _best friend. _

"Sarah, are you okay?" Chuck asked, and only then did she realize that she had stopped walking and was staring at the ocean.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." She replied.

"Well then come on, there's something else that I want to show you." He took her hand and started running down the beach. They eventually came upon a beach house.

"There it is," Chuck pointed at the house.

"Chuck, it's beautiful. Is it yours?"

"No, well, yes, well… sort of. It belongs to my grandmother in Connecticut. She's going to leave it to me when she dies. I've never actually been in there, though, but when I get that house, I'm hightailing it out of LA."

"You've never been in there?" Sarah asked in surprise.

"Nope, not once."

She grabbed his hand, "Well come on, let's go in!" She began dragging him behind her.

"Sarah, it's locked."

"Well, you were a cop, can't you pick locks?" She asked.

"Well, sure, but I don't use my skills to randomly break into people's houses."

She pulled him up onto the deck, "Fine then." She took her hairpins out, and within a matter of seconds, had the door wide open.

"Sarah…" He trailed off, his mouth agape, "How did you…"

"Don't ask. Just go in." She smiled.

He walked past her into the house, "Wow, this is a lot nicer than I ever imagined it being, especially since I don't think she's been here in years."

The place was fully furnished; of course, everything was covered with white sheets, which were then covered by a thick layer of dust.

Sarah pulled the sheet off the couch and plopped down on it, "So Jill doesn't know about this place?"

"Nope."

"What are you going to do for your 'secret place' when you move here?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find another spot.´ Don't worry, I'll let you in on where it is," he smiled. He then walked over to a cabinet and opened it. Much to his surprise, it was a wine rack. He pulled out a bottle.

"Wow, a '91 Merlot!" My grandma sure knows how to pick a good wine."

"Let's drink it." Sarah suggested, a mischevious grin in her face.

"What? No! Sarah, that's at least a $400.00 bottle of wine! Plus, it's my grandma's."

Sarah shrugged, "I still say let's drink it."

Chuck smirked at her, "You're not going to let me win this one, are you?"

Sarah smiled and shook her head.

It was getting dark, so Sarah lit a few candles while Chuck found and dusted off two wine glasses.

Chuck handed Sarah her wine. "Ahh," he sighed as he sat down on the couch, "This is really great."

"What is, Chuck?"

"Sitting here in my grandmother's beach house with my best friend, drinking some really expensive stolen wine, not a care in the world. All we need now is a TV and a copy of _Spies Like Us_, and we'd be all set!"

Sarah smiled, "Yeah, it is nice. I don't know if I've ever done this before."

"Yeah, breaking and entering, then stealing a really expensive bottle of wine is a first for me, too."

"No, Chuck, I've never really had any… well, friends."

Chuck looked at her, and compassion filled his eyes, "Why not? I mean, you're smart, and sweet, not to mention beautiful."

"My family just moved around too much for me to make any." She sighed, "The closest thing I ever had to a friend was my step brother, but he's kind of a hard-ass and doesn't like to talk about stuff much."

Chuck put his arm around her, "Well, you've got me now, and I'm here for you, if you ever want to talk."

She snuggled into his warm embrace, "You've said that before."

"I know, but I want you to believe it."

"Trust me, Chuck, I do." She whispered.

He squeezed her a little tighter and rested his head on top of hers. Next thing he knew, she was asleep, so he picked her up and carried her to the nearest bedroom. It seemed like he was making a habit of that, however, this time, instead of leaving, he lay down on the other side of the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. He was only going to stay there for a moment, but he fell asleep.

Chuck woke the next morning, his arm draped over Sarah's abdomen. He didn't think much of it until he realized that it was _Sarah's _abdomen. He went to remove it, but Sarah was gripping his hand tightly.

"Baby, stay, you're keeping me warm." She mumbled groggily.

"Uh, Sarah, this is Chuck." He notified her.

Sarah's eyes shot open, and she sat straight up, "Chuck! What the hell?"

"Sarah, hey, hey, calm down." He touched her shoulder gently, "Nothing happened last night, I promise. I just fell asleep here after putting you to bed."

"I must have fallen asleep on the couch?" She guessed.

"Yeah, you did."

Sarah rubbed her eyes and brushed the hair out of her face, "We should probably go home." She said.

Sarah drove Chuck home. He got out of the car, and Sarah was about to leave, when Chuck noticed that his bedroom shades were closed. He was sure he had opened them yesterday.

"Sarah!" He called and she stopped pulling out of the driveway.

"What?"

"Did you, by any chance, close my bedroom shades yesterday?"

Sarah glared at him like he was crazy, "No, of course not, why?"

"Oh my god, Jill's home!" He said frantically as he turned and rushed toward the door, "See ya Sarah!"

Chuck hastily unlocked the door and ran up the stairs to his room. Sure enough, there was Jill, sleeping like an angel. He softly lay down on the bed next to her, and started planting kisses on her face. She slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey, baby." Chuck whispered, "What are you doing home?"

"Schedules got switched around, and I ended up doing most of my lectures in one day." She replied groggily, "It was tiring, but I got to come home sooner. I wanted to surprise you. Where were you?"

"I was…out." Chuck said, not exactly sure how to tell her that he had accidentally spent the night with another woman.

Jill sat up, suddenly awake, "Save the crap, Chuck," She said angrily, "I know you were with Sarah."

Chuck tensed up; _oh boy, this is NOT going to be good_.

_**Tell me what you think! I need all the reviews that I can get.**_

_**It may be a bit before I can post my next chapter, as I am working on finishing up my other story, so please be patient with me.**_


	5. Surprise, Shock, Shaw, and Stanford

_**Here's my next Chapter… I would have posted it yesterday, but I had to work until 1:00, then I got sick and had to go to the hospital. **_

_**We meet Ellie in this chapter. I didn't take a lot of time introducing her, because she's really the same Ellie that we all know and love :)**_

_**Anyway…I hope you enjoy!**_

_**I do not own Chuck.**_

**Surprise, Shock, Shaw, and Stanford**

Chuck was stiff as a board. He didn't know what to tell her, let alone how to explain it to her.

"Jill, honey, it's not what you think."

Jill pulled her covers off and jumped out of bed, she now stood, facing him, "How, Chuck? How is it not what I think?"

"Were Sarah and I together? Yes, we were, but she and I are just friends, Jill; friends who really care about each other. I was pretty down yesterday, and Sarah helped me to get through that."

"What, by sleeping with you?"

"No, no, Honey," He said softly, "We went to the arcade and then to the beach. We ended up falling asleep on the beach,"

"Then how come you don't have more sand on you?" Jill always had to notice every detail.

"We—brought a blanket."

Jill shook her head and turned away, "Whatever," she huffed as she walked into the bathroom.

"Jill," Chuck ran after her and stopped her from closing the door, "You have to know that I wouldn't cheat on you."

Jill just twisted he mouth a little and closed the door without a word.

Chuck turned around and put his hands in his pockets, "Well, that went well," he mumbled as he walked out of his room and down the stairs.

He began preparing some scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. He almost had a plate done when Jill came down the stairs. She walked right past him and opened the door. Chuck thought that she was leaving.

"Jill, wait!" He ran into the entry way, still holding his spatula.

Jill walked back into the house, carrying the newspaper. Chuck breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wait for what, Chuck?" She asked.

"No- Nothing." He stammered, "I-I just thought that you were leaving without any breakfast."

She smiled a little, "Nope, just grabbing the newspaper." She said, holding the paper up for him to see, and then she said, "Chuck I think your eggs are burning."

"Oh shit! He cussed as he ran back into the kitchen. The eggs were salvageable, but Chuck threw them out anyway; both he and Jill hated burnt food. He was about to crack more eggs into the frying pan, when Jill came over to him and laid her hand on his arm.

"Sweetie, can we talk?" She asked.

"Sure, yeah," He replied, brushing his hands on his apron and then letting her lead him to the table, where he sat down.

She sat down next to him, and took his hand in hers, "Chuck, I'm sorry that I freaked out earlier; I know that you wouldn't cheat on me, especially with Sarah."

"Hey, its okay, I understand." He whispered and kissed her forehead.

There's something else, Chuck, I…" She hesitated, but then the phone rang. Chuck leapt up to answer it.

"Hello?"

_Yes, may I speak to Mr. Bartowski, please?_

"This is he"

_Mr. Bartowski, this is Daniel Shaw, CEO of Castle Electronics, I'm also a friend of John Casey._

"John Casey?"

_Yes, I believe you know his stepsister, Sarah Walker?_

"Oh! That John Casey!"

"_I've never actually met Miss Walker, but I heard from Mr. Casey about how you fixed her phone. He also told me that you have quite a bit of other knowledge of electronics, which is why I'd like to meet you. I'd like to observe your skill set, and if I like what I see, I want to offer you a job."_

"Really?"

"_Yes, how does today at 12:30 sound for an interview?"_

"Sounds great. I'll see you then."

"_Very well, Mr. Bartowski, I look forward to meeting you." _Mr. Shaw then hung up.

Chuck slowly lowered the phone from his ear and placed it on the receiver, stunned.

"Chuck, what is it?" Jill asked.

"The CEO of Castle Electronics wants to offer me a job."

Jill's eyes got wide, "Oh my god, Chuck, that's amazing!" She was excited for him, but Chuck noticed that for some reason, her happiness seemed forced.

He hugged her, "I'm going in for a job interview at 12:30 today."

"I'm so proud of you," she smiled as she backed away from their hug and ran her fingers through his curly hair.

Chuck looked at the clock, "Jill don't you need to go to work?"

She looked at her watch, "Holy crap I'm late! She rushed for the door.

"Wait! What about breakfast?"

"I'm not really hungry." She ran out, got into her car and drove off, completely forgetting that there was something that she needed to tell him.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Chuck was holding up two different shirts in front of the mirror. He would hold up one, then the other, and then would go back to the first one. He knew that he needed to look classy and professional, but he figured that he should show his nerdy side as well. He just couldn't decide which shirt said, "Chic-gamer" better.

He was still deciding when he heard the doorbell ring. He listened for a moment as someone kept pressing the doorbell. He nodded and chuckled to himself; yep, it was his big sister, Ellie.

"Ellie hi!" He greeted when he opened the door.

"Chuck! Jill called me and told me the great news!" She grabbed him and squeezed him tight, "I just had to drive over and tell you that I'm so proud of you!"

"Ellie, you're cutting off my air supply." Chuck croaked.

"Ooh, sorry," She apologized as she backed away.

"Since you're here, could you help me?"

She followed him upstairs, and he held both the shirts up for her to see, "Which one?" He asked.

Ellie opened her mouth to speak, but she heard a voice behind her.

"The blue one." It was Sarah.

Ellie turned around, "That's exactly what I was going to say," She smiled at the blonde girl.

Sarah walked in, "Hi, I'm Sarah. You must be Ellie."

"That's me, and you must be Bryce's…" Ellie trailed off.

"Yeah, that would be me," Sarah replied.

"I can't believe that it's taken this long for me to meet you!" Ellie said, "You're always somewhere else when I come visit Chuck. He keeps telling me that I'll like you, but that I'm not allowed to steal his best friend."

"Ladies, Tie!" He drew the attention back to himself and held up two ties.

"The blue one," Said Ellie and Sarah at the same time, then they laughed.

"Blue on blue," Chuck muttered, "Nice."

Sarah turned to Ellie, "Ellie could you leave us for a minute? I'd like to talk to Chuck."

"Sure, take your time," Ellie smiled as she walked out of the room.

Sarah plunked down on Chuck's bed, "So, are you nervous?"

Chuck shrugged as he stood in front of the mirror, trying to knot his tie, "Not really, I mean, I know I'll get the job, so… He trailed off, but then muttered, "Damn this tie!"

Sarah smiled and walked over to him, "Can't you do anything by yourself?" She joked as she tied his tie for him.

"Maybe, but you do it so much better."

She finished straightening his tie, and then put her hands on his chest, "Here," she said, "For good luck."

"What are you giving me?" He asked.

"This," She reached up and kissed him softly on the lips.

A wave of electricity surged through his body as her lips touched his. Before he could think, he deepened the kiss, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth. He gripped her tightly around her waist, and she had large fistfuls of his shirt in her hands.

They were lost in the moment. It was amazing, but suddenly they came back to their senses.

"MMM! Chuck voiced loudly, then broke the kiss, "What the hell was that!"

"Oh my God!" Sarah shrieked at the same time, a petrified expression on her face.

"I don't know what that was, but it can _never _happen again," said a very mortified Chuck.

"I agree, I totally agree." Sarah shakily replied.

"In fact, this incident should never even leave this room." Chuck stated.

"Absolutely." Sarah answered, still noticeably flustered.

Chuck and Sarah composed themselves and walked down the stairs like zombies. They couldn't explain what had happened, even if they had wanted to, because, though neither of them would ever admit it, something about that kiss just felt _right._

"Chuck, Sarah, are you alright?" Ellie asked when she saw their mortified expressions.

They both forced a smile, "Yeah, were fine. Couldn't be better," They assured her.

Ellie didn't look convinced, but she opted not to pry any deeper. She already knew what happened anyway; she could see it in their faces.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Chuck drove down to the building that was simply known as 'Castle' to most everybody. He strolled in and walked up to the reception desk.

"Hi, can I help you?" The receptionist asked.

"Yeah, I have a 12:30 with Mr. Shaw?"

"You must be Mr. Bartowski. Take the elevator to the twentieth floor, and take a right down the hallway. Mr. Shaw's assistant will direct you."

"Thank you." He started walking toward the elevator.

"By the way," she called after him, and he stopped and turned toward her, "I love your shirt and tie; Blue on blue. Your girlfriend has good taste."

He smiled, "Thank you. How did you…?"

The receptionist giggled, "Something just tells me that you didn't pick that ensemble yourself."

"Well," he chuckled, "You're right." He turned around and walked toward the elevator, muttering, "_I didn't pick it out myself_."

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Mr. Bartowski, I'm Daniel Shaw." The man shook Chuck's hand, "I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"No, no—about ten minutes."

Shaw went and sat behind his desk, "By the way, nice shirt and tie."

Chuck had to stifle a laugh, "Thank you."

The interview went very smoothly. The two men talked and laughed and joked. Chuck was very well prepared for the interview, given the fact that he had only had a few short hours to get ready. The interview lasted only about an hour, but by the end of that hour, Chuck had a job as the head video game designer. Shaw made it very clear that he generally didn't hire people for managerial positions, but he was willing to make this one exception, but it would be probationary.

As soon as he left Castle, he called Jill. She didn't answer, but he left her a message asking if she could get off early and meet him at the boardwalk in an hour.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Jill got Chuck's message and left work immediately. She was glad he had called; she really needed to talk to him. She parked her car near the boardwalk, and saw him about thirty yards away, leaning up against his car.

He saw her and jogged toward her, "Jill, I got the job!" he hugged her.

"That's wonderful, honey." She said softly.

He backed his head away and looked into her eyes, "What's wrong?"

She smiled slightly, "Let's go for a walk."

They walked in silence for a little while, but finally Jill spoke.

"Chuck, I got offered a teaching position at Stanford."

"You got offered a job at Stanford? Honey, that's great!"

Jill smiled, "Really, you think so?"

"Yeah, I'm so proud of you!" He hugged her, but then he realized something, "Wait, that means that you'll have to move to Palo Alto."

"Yeah." She said, "I know, but you just got your dream job, and I don't want to take you away from that. So, I know that it's gonna be tough, but I think that you should stay in LA."

"You really want to try the long-distance thing?" He asked.

"Chuck, we've been together since high school. I lived up there before, remember? You came and visited me all the time."

"You're sure this is what you want?" He meant it as a question, but it came out more like a statement.

"Chuck, I'm sure. I mean, this is my dream job, but I'm not going to make you leave yours just so I can pursue mine."

"Well, if you're sure about this, then I guess you should go for it."

"I love you so much!" She exclaimed, and then he kissed her again.

She pulled away from the kiss, "Chuck, are you okay with this?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah," he chuckled, "Why wouldn't I be?"

x-x-x-x-x-x

"I am so not okay with this, I am so not okay with this, _I am so not okay with this!" _ Chuck was pacing back and forth in front of Sarah at the Orange Orange.

"Chuck, why don't you just tell her that?"

"Because I don't want her to choose me over her dream!" Chuck looked almost as if he was going to cry.

"Chuck, for goodness sake, she already chose you! She's marrying you."

"Sarah, I don't want to move up there! I just got a job"

"Chuck, no one said anything about moving. You stay here, and Jill goes up there. When you get married, you can re-evaluate the situation. You two love each other enough to make it work."

"You really think that?" Chuck asked.

"No, Chuck," Sarah smiled and laid her hand on his, "I know it."

_Chuck, however, still wasn't so sure…_

_**So what did you think? Please Review. Also, no one guessed what the double meaning of the last chapter's title was. Is it that subtle? **_


	6. Avoid Improper Conduct

_**Here's my next chapter. It's not as long as my other chapters, and I don't think it's as well-written either; but I'll let you be the judge of that.**_

_**We meet Captain Awesome briefly in this chapter.**_

_**I do not own Chuck.**_

**Avoid Improper Conduct**

"Jill, are you sure you don't want to bring the oak filing cabinet?" Chuck asked as they were loading stuff into the trailer to drive up to Stanford.

"I don't know, Chuck, I don't think I'll need it." Jill replied, walking out of the house carrying a box that was twice her size, "But if you think I should take it…" She trailed off.

Ellie and her fiancé Devon had come to help Jill move, and so Chuck looked at Devon, "Could you give me a hand?"

"No problem," Devon, who was also known as 'Captain Awesome', replied.

Sarah drove up in her black Porsche and saw the trail of people walking in and out of the house. She was just about to go inside when she saw someone coming out with an enormous box. She couldn't tell if it was Jill or Ellie.

"Hello… Box." She joked.

The box walked past her, and finally, the person set it down. It was Jill. "Hey, Sarah." She replied, out of breath.

Chuck and Devon walked out, carrying the filing cabinet. "Hey Sarah," Chuck smiled as they shuffled past and set the cabinet down.

"Heyy—buddy." Sarah said, giving Chuck an awkward punch on his arm.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, then Chuck and Sarah started walking into the house, followed by Devon and Jill. Jill was a little unsure of what had just happened. There was definitely something going on between Chuck and Sarah.

Finally, Jill's stuff was all loaded, and it was time to leave. It was decided that Chuck would drive the SUV with the Trailer, and Jill would drive her car. Sarah was going to ride with Jill for company. She was also going to spend a few days with Jill to help unpack and set up Jill's new apartment.

The drive up to Palo Alto was long and boring. Jill and Sarah were friendly with each other, but they had a very awkward relationship, as one might imagine, and being trapped in a car together for a very long time did not help much.

Sarah racked her brain to find something to converse with Jill about.

"So," she started, "How's the wedding planning coming?"

Jill sighed, "It's not. First, Bryce dies, then Chuck's like, in this funk, then he got offered his dream job, then, I get offered a job up here."

"You two are still getting married, right?" Sarah asked.

"As far as I know. But we really aren't in any hurry, I mean; we've been together since we were eighteen."

There was more silence, but then Jill looked over at Sarah, "Take care of him."

Sarah looked up, "What?"

"Please, just, be there for him. I don't know why I'm asking you this, since you're obviously in love with him, but he needs you as a friend, Sarah."

"Jill, I don't know what you're talking about. I am NOT in love with Chuck." Sarah defended.

"Okay, whatever you say." Jill relented.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Almost six hours later, they pulled into Palo Alto. It was a hot August day, and the sun was shining mercilessly.

Chuck got out of the SUV, and his grey t-shirt was soaked with sweat. He looked like he was about to pass out.

"There's no air conditioning in the SUV." He explained as Jill rushed over to him with a bottle of water.

They had some hired movers bring all of Jill's stuff up to the apartment. Chuck stayed for the night, but left early the next morning. Jill had made it very clear the night before that she did not want to be woken up when he left, so Chuck made it very clear to her that night just how much he was going to miss her. (hint)

Sarah, however, woke at the crack of dawn and made him a pot of coffee. She poured it into a thermos for him, and when he was ready to leave, she walked him downstairs. Right before they were about to exit the apartment building, Chuck turned and stopped her.

"I want you to tell my girl how much I love her, okay?"

"Okay." She replied.

He chuckled, "I'd tell you to give her a kiss from me, but that would be a little weird." He turned and was about to open the door to the outside, but Sarah held him back.

"Chuck?"

"Yeah?" He answered, not turning around.

"You could still give _me_ a kiss."

"No, I can't Sarah," Chuck replied.

"Why?"

_Because, I'd kiss you, and then I'd kiss you again, and then I'd kiss you with tongue, and I don't think either of us would be able to stop_, Chuck thought, but said out loud, "It's just inappropriate. Your Bryce's girl."

"Chuck, Bryce has been dead for almost eight months."

"AND I'm engaged to Jill," Chuck added.

For a few seconds, neither of them said a word. Sarah just looked at the floor, and Chuck stared her, then he took her shoulders in his hands, and said, "I'll see you in a few days." With that, he walked out the door.

Sarah slinked back up the stairs to Jill's apartment. It was going to be a very stressful three days with Chuck's future wife.

x-x-x-x-x-x

The next few days were not as torturous as Sarah anticipated; it was actually kind of fun to be with Jill. They had a lot of bonding time over Chuck's idiosyncrasies. Still, Sarah was happy when it was time for her to go home.

She arrived home at 9:30 PM, and immediately called Chuck, who didn't answer his phone. She figured that maybe he had his phone off, so she went to his house. He wasn't there, so she called Castle.

"_Castle Electronics, gaming division, This is Janelle. How may I help you?"_

"This is Sarah Walker; I am calling to see if Chuck Bartowski is in?"

"_I'm sorry, Ma'am, but Mr. Bartowski wasn't in today. He did, however, leave me with a message for you. He said that you should try the beach."_

Sarah smiled, of course, the beach. She got back in her car and drove to Chuck's secret hideout. Sure enough, there he was.

It was about 10:30 PM; Sarah got out of her car and began to walk down to the sand, but stopped. She didn't know why, but he looked like he needed to be alone. She walked back up to her car and sat on the hood, and watched him. She eventually fell asleep, and woke up just as the sun was rising. She saw him still sitting on the beach, staring out into the ocean. She took her shoes off and went to join him.

He looked up briefly when he saw her walk up and sit down next to him. "How long have you been here?" he asked.

"All night."

They sat in silence for a bit, but then Chuck spoke again, "Jill and I are doomed, aren't we?" He said it more as a statement than a question.

"I seriously doubt it, Chuck."

"She and I have been together for so long, and I'm starting to wonder if we stayed together just because it was comfortable and convenient."

"Do you love her?"

"Of course I do, Sarah. I'm just starting to wonder if I'm actually _in love _with her."

"Hey, I get it," Sarah put her hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at her, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being my friend. I'm so glad I have you."

She leaned over and nudged him, "I'll always be here for you. You know that, right? Trust me, Chuck."

He didn't say a word. He just smiled, put his arm around her, and squeezed her. She closed her eyes and leaned into his chest. It was the perfect moment, and Sarah never wanted it to end. She would never admit it, but she always had a thing for Chuck, from the first time she had seen him; a crush of sorts. But then she had fallen in love with Bryce. Now that Bryce had been gone for a while, those feelings were coming back, and Sarah didn't know if she would be able to stop them. She decided, though, that she would have to keep her feelings to herself. Reasoning that he was engaged and she didn't want to rock the already rocky boat that Chuck and Jill were in.

Chuck held her close. He kissed the top of her blonde head softly, and remembered the last words Bryce had said to him. It seemed so long ago, but at the same time, it seemed like just yesterday:

"_Take care of her."_

He wasn't sure how well he was taking care of Sarah, but she sure was taking care of him. He didn't know how he could have gotten through the past eight months without her. She was the best friend he could have ever asked for, but he was beginning to wonder if that was all she was to him. He realized that he was possibly falling in love with her, but he knew that he could never tell her that; because no matter how dead Bryce was, Sarah was still Bryce's girl in Chuck's eyes, and he would never betray his best friend.

How long they stayed there, they didn't know. They lost all track of time. Being in each other's arms felt so restful, so relaxing, and so _right_. Sadly, neither one of them would ever admit it aloud.

_**There you have it people! Please Review! Now for the sad news…**_

_**As of next Friday, I will no longer have access to a computer. I don't know for how long, but it could be a very long while. Because of this, my updates will be less frequent, or possibly not at all for a long time. I am very sorry.**_

_**I will try and get as many chapters up as possible within the next week. Again, I am sorry and I want you to know that I really appreciate all of you readers, especially the reviewers.**_

_**Thank you very much for giving my story a chance!**_


	7. Chuck vs the Boss and the Best Friend

_**This chapter starts on the same morning that the last chapter ends with. Also, I wanted to mention something. The last Chapter kind of skipped ahead a little bit. The way I wrote this story, Bryce died in January, and Jill moved to Stanford in August, just so you can get a little bit of a time table in your mind. **_

_**I can't tell you how thrilled I am to get all of the reviews. I publish a chapter, go to work, come home, and find my inbox full of PM's Reviews, Story Alerts and such like. I have almost as many reviews with this story in six chapters as I do with my other story in twenty chapters! Which is why I have been focusing on this story more.**_

_**Here's Chapter 7. Enjoy!**_

**Chuck vs. the Boss and the Best Friend**

Chuck walked into work, yawning. He then went over to the receptionist's desk to get a cup of the free coffee that was always served there.

"Good Morning, Mr. Bartowski." The receptionist smiled.

"Good Morning, Adrienne," He yawned in response.

"Long night?"

"Make that a long past few weeks." He yawned again, "Have a good day."

"You too, Mr. Bartowski!" She called as he made his way over to the elevator.

Chuck had his own office; a very nice office at that. He even had his own secretary right outside the door. Her name was Amanda.

"Good morning, Mr. Bartowski!" Amanda greeted him cheerily.

"Morning, Mandy," He replied as he opened the door to his office, "Can you get me a cup of coffee? The stuff in the lobby is good enough to wake you up, but I'm convinced that they reuse the grounds. It's weaker than ever this morning."

"No need." She answered.

"What do you mean no need…?" He trailed off when he went into his office and saw Sarah sitting in one of the chairs, a travel cup of coffee in her hand.

She smiled, "I thought you might be tired, so I brought you some of that good coffee from that place next to the Orange Orange."

"Oh my god, you are my angel!" He exclaimed as he snatched the cup from her and took a sip of the piping brown liquid, "Wow, is that ever good… and hot—hot—very hot!"

Sarah giggled.

"Thank you very much, Sarah. You don't know what it takes to get a good cup of coffee around here."

"You're welcome, now I need to get to work." She kissed him on the cheek, "Have fun today!" She said, and then jogged over to the door. She almost ran into Daniel Shaw as he was going into Chuck's office. He smiled, stepped aside, and let her through. She smiled back as a 'thank you' before closing the door behind her.

"Who's the blonde?" Shaw asked, almost drooling.

"Oh, that's Sarah."

"Sarah Walker? John Casey's sister?" Daniel asked.

"Well, yeah, stepsister," Chuck mumbled in correction. "Was there something you needed Shaw?"

"Just wondering how that game is coming. You know the release party is in a little over two months, right?"

Chuck nodded affirmatively, "Right. And you are not to worry, we will have the finished product ready on time. It might be up to the very last second, but it will be on time."

"That's what I like to hear, Chuck." Shaw smiled, "If this game gets big, then so will you. I don't know if you realize what this is going to do for your career, but it's huge."

Chuck smiled lamely, "Yes, sir, I'm sure it is."

"So anyway, about Sarah; is she available, or is she dating someone?"

"Wow, you don't waste any time do you?" Chuck muttered rhetorically then said aloud, "No, and no."

"So—she's not available, and she's not dating anyone?"

"Precisely."

"Hm, Okay. Weird, but- okay." Shaw turned and left the room.

As soon as he had left, Sarah popped in, her mouth agape. "Who was _that_?"

"Oh, that was Daniel Shaw, my boss." He replied absentmindedly, and then he looked up and furrowed his forehead, "Didn't you have to get to work?"

She shrugged, "I called in sick." She went over and hopped up to sit on his desk, "So, Daniel Shaw, huh? He's cute. Is he dating anyone?"

Chuck had been flipping through some papers, and he looked up in disbelief, "What is it with you people this morning? No, he's not dating anyone."

"Then can you set me up with him?"

"Seriously Sarah?" He asked, almost sarcastically.

Her eyes got wide, but then they narrowed, and she put on her cutest smile, "Please?" She leaned over and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him playfully, "Please, please, pretty please?" She tackled him until she was practically on his lap.

Up until this point, Chuck had really found no humor in the situation, but seeing her sitting half on the arm of his chair, and half on his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck, he had to laugh.

"You really want me to set you up with my boss?"

She nodded innocently.

"Fine," he chuckled; he reached for his phone, and dialed an extension number.

_Daniel Shaw's office._

"Colleen, could you ask Shaw to come to my office when he has a minute?"

_Of course, Mr. Bartowski._

"Thank you."

**FIVE MINUTES LATER.**

"What's up, Chuck?" Shaw asked as he entered Chuck's office, "Is it bad news about the video game? 'Because I am already having a stressful day, and I don't need anymore…" Then he looked up and saw Sarah, "Hello," He smiled.

Sarah smiled back, "Hello."

"Daniel Shaw, Sarah Walker. Sarah Walker, Daniel Shaw. I can't believe I'm setting my best friend up with my boss, but, it seems that you two have a thing for each other, so just- go on a date and get it out of your systems will ya?"

Shaw extended his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Walker."

"You, too, Mr. Shaw, and please, call me Sarah."

Shaw grinned, "And you call me Daniel, or Shaw; whichever one you want. Everybody calls me by my last name, though."

"Okay."

"Anyway, about a date; how's dinner, tonight?"

"I'm open to that," Sarah replied.

"Great, I'll pick you up around eight. Will that work?" He asked.

"Of course."

"Okay, see ya then." He turned and walked out the door.

Sarah stifled a squeal as she turned towards Chuck, "Chuck, I got a date!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, yes you did." Chuck was not too happy, but there really was nothing he could do. Sarah was happy, and that really should have been all that mattered to him, but sadly, it wasn't.

Sarah was still giddy, "Oh my god, Chuck, what should I wear?"

Chuck wanted to say, _how should I know? _But the truth was, he knew _exactly _what she should wear, "He's a casual guy, you know, no really fancy restaurants on a first date, I'm thinking, wear that blue top with the little buttons."

She glanced at him, "You like that one?"

He shrugged, "What do you mean? I like all of 'em!"

Just then, Shaw poked his head back in. He saw Sarah and smiled, "Good, you're still here. I just wanted to tell you to wear something dressy."

Sarah bit her lip, "Okay," she said.

After he left, Sarah whirled around to face Chuck, "Apparently, you don't have him all figured out, Mr.-Shaw-takes-girls-to-McDonald's-on-first-dates."

"I don't recall ever naming a certain restaurant when I told you that."

Sarah ignored him, "Okay, Chuck, you have to come over after work tonight and help me figure out what to wear."

"Okay, I'll send my sister." He replied.

"Chuck!" She whined.

"Of all the people in the world, why do you want _me _to pick out your clothes?"

"Because you're a guy, and you know what guys like." She smiled beseechingly, "Please, Chuck?"

Chuck sighed, "Okay, fine, but if you take me shopping at the mall…well, just don't do that to me. I need to keep some dignity, Sarah."

**SIX HOURS LATER, AT THE MALL (OF COURSE)**

"I am so going to kill you." Chuck growled as he watched Sarah hold up dress after dress in front of the mirror.

"Red or black?"

"Huh?"

"I said red, or black?"

"Oh, black. Definitely black… What am I saying? How should I know?"

She glared at him, "Chuck, I really need your help. I haven't been on a first date in over a year."

"Yeah, and I haven't been on a first date since the eleventh grade." He retorted.

She huffed, "Fine, you win, but please, just tell me which one looks better?" She held both of them up in front of herself again."

Chuck studied them for a second, "Yep, the black one."

"Thank you. Now hold this while I go try it on." She shoved her purse at him, and then dashed toward the fitting room.

"I am so going to kill her!" He muttered under his breath.

An old man was sitting outside the fitting room, apparently waiting for his wife. He smiled at Chuck, "Is that your wife?" He asked.

Chuck sighed and sat down next to him, "I wish. Then at least I'd have a reason to put up with her." He saw the man looking at him questioningly, so he added, "She's my best friend. I have a fiancée, but she lives up at Stanford. I love her so much and I miss her like crazy."

"So, you love your fiancee, but But you're _in love_ with your best friend?"

Chuck glared at him.

"Trust me, Sonny, I know that look that you gave her."

Chuck leaned the back of his head up against the wall, and then he looked at the old man, "I don't know, maybe I am in love with her," He sighed.

"Oh, I know for a fact that you are, sonny. In addition to how you look at her, no man would ever put up with a woman as pushy as that blonde unless he was totally and completely in love with her. That's just my opinion, but take it from someone who has been married to the same girl for sixty years. I know a thing or two about love."

Just then, the old man's wife came out, so the old man stood up, "Well, it was nice talking to you, Sonny. Just, do yourself a favor and let her know how you feel before it's too late."

Chuck nodded, "Thanks," He said, and then the old man and his wife walked away.

Chuck rested his face in his hands. Were his feelings for Sarah really that obvious? For pete's sake, the old man had thought Sarah was Chuck's wife! He could never tell Sarah how he felt, though, especially since she was dating his boss. He resigned to the fact that Sarah was always going to be the one that got away, and he was okay with that. Alright, maybe he wasn't. It was actually really depressing.

Sarah walked out of the dressing room with the black dress on. She was smiling.

"My God, Sarah, you look, beautiful."

"Really? Cause I think it fits me weird." Sarah said.

"No, no, it looks nice."

"But look at how these straps sit funny on my shoulders, and there's a funny pucker in the back."

"I never would have noticed," Chuck shrugged.

She turned around in front of the mirror, "Nope, this dress isn't going to work. What else do you have for me?" She asked.

"What do you mean?''

"Well, while I was in the fitting room, you should have been looking for other possibilities."

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"Ugh, just go find me some more dresses to try!"

"Okay, fine!" He threw up his hands in the air and marched off. "Women," He muttered under his breath.

They finally did find the perfect dress. It was short, black and eye-catching. It was also $500.00. Needless to say, Chuck ended up paying for it. Sarah promised to pay him back, though.

Another cute moment was when they were leaving the mall. Chuck opened the door and was about to go through, when Sarah grabbed his arm and held him back, "Women first."

Chuck scoffed, "Well, I'm younger than you, and I think children should come before women."

"Chuck, you're younger than me by four months," Sarah reasoned.

"That doesn't negate the fact that I'm younger." He replied.

"Well since I'm older, I think that gives me the authority to make the rules, and I say, women first!"

"Okay, fine." Chuck relented.

They drove back to Chuck's house, and Sarah got ready. She came down the stairs in her new dress, a pair of shiny black stillettos, and her previoulsly straight hair was now hanging in gorgeous blonde waves around her face. She looked like a dream. Chuck's mouth was hanging wide open.

"So, how do I look?"

_As if she even needed to ask, _Chuck thought, but said aloud, "You look absolutely amazing, Sarah."

She glanced at her watch, "He's going to be here any minute! Chuck, I'm so nervous, I think I'm gonna hurl!" Her chin started to quiver like she was going to cry.

"Hey, calm down. It's all going to be fine." Chuck took her by the shoulders, "Now don't cry, It'll mess up your masquarade."

"It's mascara, Chuck." She corrected.

They heard the doorbell ring, "Well, here goes." She smiled nervously, "I'll see you later, Chuck."

"Yeah, see ya, bye." He half waved as she walked out the door.

He took a deep breath. It was now officially time to begin the pity party. He grabbed his can of cheese balls and made his way to the couch, which is where Sarah found him three hours later when she got back. She walked in and plopped down on the couch next to him.

"Hi," He said, his mouth full of cheese balls.

"Hi," She returned lamely. She then grabbed the container from him and started eating out of it.

"How was your date?"

"Fine," She replied as she continued munching.

"That bad, huh?"

"Like I said, Chuck, it was fine. Shaw's nice." Then she changed the subject. "Do you have anything that I could wear that would be more comfortable?"

"Yeah, sure. Go upstairs and take your pick." He snatched the cheese ball container back from her.

"Okay, thanks, then if you don't mind, I think I'll crash in the guest bedroom." She told him

"Fine by me." He answered.

Half an hour later, Chuck decided to retire for the night. He went upstairs and peeked into the guest room. Sarah was already sound asleep. He walked in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Her face twisted a little as she shifted in her sleep. He stood back up, walked out and went to bed, but he couldn't sleep. He missed Jill, he was mixed up about his feelings for Sarah, and Sarah was interested in another guy. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Life used to be so straightforward. When did it get so complicated? He wished he knew. One thing he did know, however, was that things were only going to get worse, and there was nothing he could do but sit back and watch.

_**There you have it! Please Review. **_

_**I will try and get another chapter up before I have to give up my computer. I'm hoping that I won't be computer-less for more than a month. Still, I will try and update this story as much as possible from a different computer, but I might not be able to. We'll see!**_


	8. What Was He Thinking?

_**Here's Chapter 8! I hope you like it. The plot thickens a little in this chapter. Oh, and don't worry, Shaw won't last long, and as long as he does stick around, he'll be a bigger jerk than he was in the show.**_

_**I know that this is a short chapter. I hope it's okay.**_

_**I don't know if you heard, but they started shooting Season 4 yesterday. Yay! I can hardly wait till September!**_

_**Still don't own Chuck. **_

**What was He Thinking?**

The next morning, Sarah sat at Chuck's kitchen table eating her cereal very slowly, and staring at the vase in the middle of the table. Chuck was doing the exact same thing; however, instead of staring at the vase, he was staring at her. Finally he spoke.

"Dollar for your thoughts?"

She looked up and smirked, "Isn't it a penny?"

"Yeah, but I'd feel bad just giving you a penny. Anyway, what has you so preoccupied with the vase? Because if it needs dusting, you can just let me know; you don't have to count the dust particles and give me a detailed report."

Sarah chuckled, "I was just thinking—about my date last night."

"Yeah, what did you do on your date with the big man on campus?" Chuck inquired.

Sarah slipped back into her thoughts as she remembered the events of the previous night.

x-x-x-x-x-x

_"Yeah, see ya, bye." It was the last thing she heard Chuck say._

"_Hello Sarah, you look lovely." Shaw commented._

"_Thank you," She replied._

_They drove to a fancy restaurant where Shaw ordered for her. Sushi… She hated sushi, but she didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with him, so she just picked at it while she listened to him talk._

"_So has Bartowski told you about the game he's designing for Castle?"_

_Sarah shook her head as she gagged on a bite of the nasty raw fish and seaweed. The reason Chuck had never told her about the game was because he knew she was completely disinterested in that kind of stuff, but apparently, Shaw didn't seem to care. _

_He went on to tell her about it, and how big that it was going to be for the company. It was going to make tons of money. He seemed to be very pleased._

"_Wow, I had no idea." Sarah said as she once again gagged, but Shaw didn't seem to notice._

"_Castle made over ten million in gross profit last year. With this game, I'm thinking that we could make half again as much this year. You know what that means, right?" He didn't wait for her to answer, "Bingo! You guessed it. A new car and possibly some new threads for yours truly. I mean, I've worn this suit at least three times; it's getting a little old, wouldn't you say?"_

"_Oh, yeah, definitely." Sarah gagged again._

_Sarah was starting to get really bothered, but she barely knew Shaw. Maybe he wasn't always like this. However, she seriously believed that she could ask him any question, and he would figure out how to boast about it._

_Later, they were walking down the boardwalk. Shaw seemed to have mellowed out a little, and they were walking in silence. Sarah remembered her first date with Bryce. They had walked this same stretch of boardwalk, but it had been so much different. She had been cold, so Bryce offered her his jacket, which she accepted gratefully. She had then snuggled into his warm embrace. Well, tonight she was freezing, and Shaw didn't even notice. _

_Sarah tried to make conversation. "So will Chuck be getting a raise when this game gets out?"_

"_Are you kidding me? Chuck's half the company! He'll be getting a raise, but he will also be spending a lot of company money as well."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_Well, he'll be flying all over the United States and possibly even Europe promoting the game. We need this to get big, Sarah."_

"_He never told me that he'd be travelling."_

"_Oh, he doesn't know it yet." Shaw replied. "But you know, if this gets big, I'll be the Bill Gates of gaming."_

_Sarah's mouth was agape. Just then, a man walked past them. He wolf whistled and grabbed Sarah's ass as he walked by._

_Sarah's jaw practically hit the ground. She glanced at Shaw to see what he was going to do. He scoffed a little, and then he turned and winked at the guy. All he said to the man was, "I know, right?"_

_That was it. Sarah had had enough. She stepped in front of Shaw and slapped him hard across the face._

"_Ow! What was that for?"_

"_You know what, Shaw? You are a pompous ass. I really thought that I was going to have a nice time tonight. But all you've done the whole night is talk about yourself! And you ordered me sushi, which I hate, by the way, and now I'm standing here, freezing cold, listening to you talk about how you plan to use my best friend for your benefit. If you ask me,_ Chuck_ should be the Bill Gates of gaming. I mean, do you even know anything about designing video games?"_

_Shaw was at a loss for words._

"_Yeah, that's what I thought," She continued, "You're sitting back watching Chuck do all the work, and then when he's finished, you'll take all the credit. You'll probably even tell him what to say when he does these presentations all over the world, just so it makes you look good. Well, let me tell you something, Daniel Shaw, you don't own him, and you sure as hell never will as long as I have something to say about it. Chuck's too good for you, and come to think of it, so am I." She paused for a moment, and then said, "I'm done talking now, if there was anything you wanted to say."_

_Shaw let out a small scoff, "I seriously thought you'd be more understanding, given your background."_

_Sarah grabbed Shaw by his collar and shoved him up against the nearest light pole, "Don't you EVER mention my background again," She hissed, "Got it?" She released him, "I'll take a cab home." She muttered as she walked away._

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Yoo-hoo, Sarah!" Chuck snapped his fingers in front of her face.

She broke out of her reverie, "What?"

"I asked you a question. How did your date go last night?"

Sarah smiled painfully, and she bit her lip, "It went fine, Chuck."

Chuck studied her, "Is there something that you're not telling me, Sarah?"

"Something like what?"

"Something that you should be telling me? Did he hurt you? Cause if he did, I swear I'll…"

Sarah swallowed hard, and forced a smile, "Chuck, everything is fine." She lied.

Chuck shook his head. He knew Sarah was lying. He wondered why she would do that. As far as he knew, she had never lied to him before, so he was wondering why she would lie to him now.

"Sarah, are you sure there's nothing that you should tell me?"

Sarah sighed, "Fine, Chuck, you really want me to tell you what happened last night?"

"Please."

"Alright, here goes…"

**ONE HOUR LATER, DANIEL SHAW'S OFFICE:**

"You Jerk!" Chuck spat as he burst into Shaw's office, "You worthless, low-life, scum-of-the-earth, idiotic jerk!"

"I take it Sarah told you about our date last night," Shaw said.

Chuck was furious, "Yeah, she told me everything. He paused as he tried to compose himself, "Did your father not teach you anything about respecting women?"

"And here I thought you were mad about the fact that I'm supposedly using you." Shaw replied.

"Right now that's the least of my concerns. Unlike you, I'm not caught up in myself. You insulted my best friend's honor, and so now you'll deal with me. I'm warning you, Shaw, if you _ever_ treat Sarah like that again, I will expose you for who you really are, and trust me, you do not want that to happen. It will be the end of you and your precious company."

"Which also means you'll lose your job." Shaw shot back.

Chuck smirked, "Don't worry, Shaw. I'll be fine. Now I believe there is a certain young lady who deserves an apology?"

"Yes, of course."

Chuck didn't say anything else. He just turned on his heels and walked out of the office. He hadn't been that angry in a long time. It really had taken all of his self-control to not beat Shaw to a bloody pulp.

"Hello, Mr. Bartowski," Shaw's assistant greeted as Chuck walked past her desk, "The boss being a problem again?"

Chuck paused, smiled a little, and then turned around to face her, "Let's just put it this way, Colleen; next time you bring him a cup of coffee, spit in it before you give it to him."

_**That's all for now, folks! Much thanks to supesfan18. He pretty much came up with the whole idea for the date, and I just modified it so that it would fit with my story. The next chapter will pick up where this one left off. It will reveal why Sarah's background was of any interest to Shaw. I will try to get the next chapter posted before I have to give up my computer.**_

_**Please review!**_


	9. AUTHOR'S NOTE

_**Well, Hi everyone...**_

_**This is just a brief note to let you know that I am putting my story on a very brief hiatus. Actually, hiatus probably is not the right term. What I mean to say is that I am not going to have very much computer access for a while, so my updates are going to be a lot less frequent. I know; it really bums me out too. :(**_

**_Thank you all so much for your support... It really means a lot to me! Your reviews have been amazing, and I am really going to miss being a part of the fanfic world for a while. Don't worry though, I WILL be back full force hopefully in no more than a month's time. _****_I have three chapters started on my flash drive, and it would be a shame to not post them, don't you think?_****_  
_**

**_Anywho...  
_**

**_Reviews are still appreciated, and PM's. Even if you just want to PM me throughout this dry season and let me know you're still patiently awaiting my next update, it would mean a lot._**

**_Well, until we meet again... Adios my fanfiction Amigos!_**

**_Regretfully,_**

**_C.J.  
_**

**_PS If you want to follow me on Twitter, you surely can! I just set up a new account specifically for fanfiction topics. I will post updates on how my stories are going, and I probably will even post spoilers for my stories on there! Go to my profile page for the link.  
_**


	10. The Truth

_**Here is Chapter 9! I know everybody was upset when I said I wasn't going to post as often. Don't you all love me now? **_

_**I do not own Chuck. :(**_

**The Truth**

Sarah knocked on Shaw's doorframe, "You wanted to see me?"

"Miss Walker, please come in."

Sarah slowly walked in and stood in front of his desk, "Well?"

"Have a seat."

Sarah sat in one of Shaw's plush leather chairs, "I don't have a lot of time for conversing with snakes, so spit it out."

"I wanted to apologize for last night. It was very wrong to treat you the way I did, and it won't happen again." Shaw said.

"You bet it won't," Sarah muttered.

"I must also admit that I did have an ulterior motive." Shaw continued.

Sarah glared at him, "You really remind me of my father, you know that?"

"Sarah, I wanted to go out with you because your father is sort of one of my heroes."

"That's really sad," Sarah pointed out.

"Anyway, I'd really like to make it up to you." Shaw finally said, "How about dinner do-over? We'll go anywhere you want to go."

Sarah looked down at her lap, "I don't know."

"Please, Sarah, it's the least I can do." Shaw begged.

"Well, since you asked so nicely…" She paused and smiled, Okay, I'll go out with you again, but you're on big-time probation, mister."

Shaw smiled back, "I can live with that."

Sarah got up to leave, but Shaw stopped her, "Before you go, can I ask you a question?"

Sarah sat back down, "Sure."

"Please don't get angry, but I was wondering why you got so upset last night when I mentioned your past."

Sarah squirmed visibly, "It's just,—it's a real soft spot for me. I don't think I'll ever get over what happened."

Sarah shook her head, "He really doesn't know anything about my past, and I'd like to keep it that way. I didn't even tell Bryce," she admitted

There was a long pause, and then Shaw said, "You should tell him."

"What?" No, I can't do that!" Sarah protested

"Sarah, sooner or later he's going to find out. One day, somebody is going to let the truth slip."

Sarah stared at her lap for a long while. "You're right," She finally said, "I have to tell him.'

Shaw just nodded.

"But, how? When?" She wondered.

"How about right now?" Shaw suggested

"But he's working right now. I don't want to bother him."

Shaw chuckled, "Sarah, if there's one thing that I know about your boy Chuck, it's that he's never too busy for you."

"Okay," Sarah closed her eyes and nodded, "Okay, I can do this." She started to stand up but she promptly sat back down. "I can't do this," She groaned.

"Sarah, it's not like Chuck is going to renounce you as his best friend. He might be a little upset, but he'll get over it."

"You really think so?" Sarah asked nervously.

"Of course I do. He loves you, Sarah." Shaw smiled, "Now go before I walk you down there myself."

Next thing Sarah knew, she was standing in front of Chuck's office door. She knocked a couple of times before opening it. Chuck was on the phone with Jill, but when he heard the door open, looked up and saw Sarah, and motioned for her to come in.

"Okay honey…yeah…say I've got someone here to see me… yep, see you soon… love you too…uh-huh…bye." He hung up the phone, looked up and once again smiled at Sarah, who was awkwardly standing between the door and Chuck's desk.

"I'm sorry, Chuck, is this a bad time?" Sarah inquired.

"No, no, it's just fine, come on in." He motioned for her to approach him, "Say, I'm going up to Stanford to visit Jill," he informed her, "Think you can survive for a week without me?"

"I think I'll manage," She deadpanned.

Chuck shot her a concerned glance, "Sarah, is everything alright?"

Sarah looked down at her lap, "There's something that I need to tell you, and I don't know if you're going to like it."

Chuck was now mildly alarmed, "You're not pregnant are you?"

"No," She glared at him like he was crazy.

"Secretly married?" He guessed again.

Sarah was getting annoyed, "Chuck, I wanted to tell you that I…"

Chuck cut her off, "Don't tell me, you're the daughter of some foreign king, and you were engaged to some handsome prince, but you didn't love him, so you ran away."

Sarah smiled sadly, "Actually you're not too far off."

"Really?" He asked in disbelief.

"Really," She confirmed.

"Sarah, whatever it is, just tell me."

"Okay, Chuck, long story short, my father is Jack Burton, the multi-millionaire software tycoon from D.C. I didn't really know him growing up, but he had a trust fund set up for me and stuff like that. I moved in with him when I was seventeen, because I wanted to have a home closer to Harvard, which is where I went to college. I got engaged to Kyle Henning, you know…"

"Yeah, I know who he is," Chuck interrupted, "He's business magnate Don Henning's son." Then his forehead furrowed, "why would you be so afraid of telling me that?"

"Anyway," Sarah continued, "Kyle and I broke off the engagement when we realized that the only reason that we were getting married was to please our fathers. That was when I moved out to LA, met Bryce, started dating him, and lost my trust fund. I haven't spoken to my father since the day that Bryce and I got engaged. I had just called to tell him that I was getting married."

Chuck just stared blankly at her.

"Do you have any questions?" She asked expectantly.

"Chuck sprang back to life, "Yeah, I have three, to be exact; one: you actually had a trust fund? 'Cause—wow! Two: Why do you call yourself Sarah _Walker,_ and Three: why were you so afraid to tell me?"

"You're—not mad?" Sarah faltered disbelievingly.

"No, why would I be mad?"

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, in answer to your questions- Number one; yes, I did have a trust fund, but my dad cut it off when he found out that I was dating Bryce."

"Wow, that sucks," Chuck said softly.

Sarah smiled, "Number two, my full name is Samantha Lisa Walker Burton. Walker was my mother's last name. She never took on the family name. I started using the name Walker when I moved here so that people would have a harder time figuring out who I actually am."

But you changed your first name too," Chuck pointed out.

Sarah nodded, "It was a nickname that my cousin gave me when I was a baby. He was two and he couldn't pronounce my name. It would always come out sounding like 'Sarah,' and the name kinda stuck."

"And the answer to your third question," Sarah began, but Chuck cut her off.

"Is because you thought I'd me mad."

"Yeah," She admitted.

"Well, I'm not," He assured her.

Little did they know, Shaw was listening in. When he heard that last part of the conversation, he cussed, "Dammit!" under his breath and picked up his phone.

"This is Shaw, our plan has failed…No he wasn't angry at all…No sir, I don't know…Yes, I understand.

"_Good," The man on the other line said, "I want my daughter away from those Neanderthals. I have a reputation to uphold, and if word got out that my daughter has been working in a yogurt store, was engaged to a loser cop, and has been spending her free time gallivanting around with some good-for-nothing nerd—you get the picture. In light of that, my orders still stand; I do not care what you have to do, just eliminate Chuck Bartowski. Anything short of killing him is acceptable. He's an idiot- It can't be that hard! _

Shaw nodded affirmatively, "Yes sir."

_**Okay it's short, but don't complain. I worked really, really hard to get this posted today. Please review. **_


	11. Now what was SHE Thinking?

_**Here is chapter 10! Kind of a sadder chapter, but don't be mad at me. It'll all straighten itself out eventually, I promise. **_

_**I do not own Chuck. **_

**Now what was SHE Thinking?**

Daniel Shaw looked lovingly at the Armani suit hanging in his closet, and then he looked back at his reflection in disgust. He was wearing a polo shirt and blue jeans. _Blue Jeans—_the name alone made him want to hurl. The price we pay for love, right?—Er, the love of money. Oh well, at least the repulsive run of the mill attire showed off his incredibly well shaped physique. He glanced at his watch; time to get this show on the road.

At Sarah's apartment, Chuck was pacing back and forth behind her, while she sat at her vanity attempting to pick out a pair of earrings.

"You're making a big mistake," He deadpanned for the millionth time.

"Chuck, stop saying that."

"But it's true!" He argued, "Sarah, don't you remember, this is the guy who took you out to dinner, ordered you _sushi_, and then publicly humiliated you? Have you forgotten so soon?"

"He did apologize, Chuck, and he was so sweet about it."

"He only apologized because I told him to!"

Sarah was getting annoyed. She got up and stood face to face with him, "Look, Daniel apologized, and that's all that really matters to me. I appreciate that you 'defended my honor' or whatever it is you did, but it doesn't give you the right to tell me who I can and can't date, so lay off it, Charles."

"Whoa," Chuck took a step back, "You just called me Charles."

"Because I'm irritated with you," She replied.

"That's it. I am putting my foot down, "I don't want you dating my boss." Chuck said forcefully, raising his voice just a little.

"Did you even hear what I just said?" Sarah spat, "You have no business dictating who I should and shouldn't go out with!"

"But you're making a mistake! I can't sit back and watch you do that!"

Sarah glared at him, "I'm a big girl, Chuck. Let me make my own mistakes. You don't have to protect me."

Just then, the doorbell rang, signaling that Shaw was in the lobby. Sarah just shook her head in frustration and started to go out the door.

"Sarah, I'm begging you…" Chuck began, but was cut off by an icy glare from Sarah.

"Goodbye, Chuck. Leave a light on here when you go home."

"Sarah!" He called right before she closed the door.

"What?"

"I lov…I'll um…I uh…"

"I don't have all night, so spit it out, Chuck."

Chuck was at a loss for what to say, "Which light should I leave on?" Was all he could come up with.

Sarah scoffed, "Like I care," Then she closed the door behind her and was gone.

As he watched her leave, Chuck felt as if his future with Sarah was slipping right through his fingers, even if it was a future that he had no business thinking about. He plopped dejectedly onto the couch. This was going to be the worst night ever. Then he had an idea; maybe going to the arcade would cheer him up.

When Sarah entered the lobby, Shaw could immediately tell that she was a little down.

"Sarah, are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded her head, "Yeah, I will be. I just had a fight with Chuck."

Shaw racked his brain for something to say, "Do you want to talk about it?" He finally asked.

"Not really, but thanks."

Shaw changed the subject, "So, where would you like to go tonight?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe—there's this Chinese place downtown that I've wanted to go to, but it's kind of a long way away."

"I'm sensing another 'but'," Shaw noted.

Sarah smiled, "There's this burger place down by the Pier."

"The what?"

"You know, _the Pier._"

Shaw shrugged, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You are the CEO of biggest gaming company in the region, and you've never been to the Pier?" Sarah asked him in shock.

"Not once. What is it?" He asked.

"It's an amusement park with a killer arcade! I can't believe you've never been there!" Sarah exclaimed.

Shaw just shrugged again.

"Oh my God, we are so going there." Sarah laughed.

"We're going to a _burger place_?" Shaw asked, a hint of disgust in his voice, but Sarah did not seem to notice.

"To a burger place and then the arcade; it will blow your mind!" She replied enthusiastically.

"The burgers or the games will blow my mind?" Shaw inquired.

Sarah just smiled, "Both."

Shaw attempted to cover his grimace with a smile as he told the driver where to take them. He hoped to God that nobody that he knew saw him tonight.

They got a table at the restaurant. Shaw had no idea what to start talking about. _Gosh, she looks good in that shirt. I would totally take her right now if I could. _Of course, he could not say that aloud, so he said simply, "You look very nice tonight."

Sarah smiled, "Why thank you."

They finally had a nice conversation during dinner, but in reality, Shaw was not the least bit interested in what he and Sarah was talking about. He wanted to get her away from Chuck Bartowski, and he wanted to get her in bed. That was the extent of his interest in her.

After dinner, they went to the Pier. Shaw gave Sarah a handful of quarters, but as she took them, she nearly dropped them. Her eyes got wide, and she swallowed hard. "Daniel, Chuck's here." She said, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"What?" Shaw's eyes scanned the crowd.

"Right over there." She pointed at him sitting at an arcade game.

"Good," Shaw said matter-of-factly.

"Good what?" Sarah looked at Shaw curiously.

_Good, I can use this to my advantage. _ That was what he thought, but what he said was, "Maybe he'd like to join us."

"Seriously?" Sarah asked, surprised.

"Yeah, seriously," He smiled, "Go say hi to him."

x-x-x-x-x-x

The arcade was Chuck's personal paradise. It was where he went to unwind; to relieve stress, and that was exactly what he needed right now. Furthermore, it was the least likely place that he would run into Sarah and Shaw, which was the last thing that he needed right now.

He pulled into the parking lot, and stopped. He could already feel his problems melting away. Twenty minutes later, he had forgotten everything but the game in front of him.

It was then that he heard a voice behind him, "Chuck?"

Chuck cringed. No, it could not be. Oh God, it was. That was Sarah Walker's voice.

"Sarah!" He turned around, forcing a smile, "_What_ are _you_ doing here?"

"Uh, Daniel and I, we were at the um…" Sarah was at a loss for words, so she just pointed in the general direction of the burger place.

"At the burger place?" Chuck filled in.

"Uh-huh, yeah, and then we um, came over here. Daniel had never been to the Pier before."

"Oh, okay." Chuck half-smiled.

They both stood awkwardly for a moment.

"So, anyway," Chuck tried to alleviate some of the tension by changing the subject slightly, "How's your date going?"

"Really, really well," Sarah smiled, "I can hardly believe that I'm on a date with the same guy as the last time."

"Really, how so?" Chuck asked.

"He's being such a gentleman; so kind and considerate."

"Yeah, I bet." Chuck muttered sarcastically.

"What did you just say?" Sarah asked, but Shaw walked up just then.

"Hey Chuck. What brings you here?"

"Please… I am Chuck Bartowski. You tell me." Chuck replied sarcastically.

Shaw put his arm around Sarah, but she almost immediately pulled away, saying, "I'm going to leave you two to discuss…whatever, while I go get some ice cream."

"Okay," both men replied simultaneously. Then they both stood in silence, with crossed arms, and watched her walk away.

Chuck finally spoke, "She's a great girl."

"Yeah," Shaw agreed, and then he turned to Chuck, "Did you ever sleep with her?"

Chuck shot a nasty glare at him, "What?"

"Well, you know, beautiful girl, plus handsome guy whose girlfriend lives across the state; equals, well," Shaw scoffed, "you get the picture."

Chuck continued to glare at Shaw, "Do you really think that little of Sarah? Or me for that matter? I would never take advantage of her. I'm not that kind of guy."

Shaw chuckled, "One question remains, my friend. Is she that kind of girl?"

Chuck was getting angry. He did not want to do anything stupid, so he just kept his mouth shut.

Shaw grinned, "That's what I thought. You don't know, do you?" He gave Chuck a pat on the shoulder, "Now if you'll excuse me, I want to get lucky tonight.

Chuck had had enough. His anger had boiled over. "You son of a bitch!" He growled. Almost without thinking, he lunged at Shaw, shoving him backwards. Shaw was about to punch Chuck, when Sarah stepped in between them.

"Hey! Whoa!" She put one hand on Chuck's chest and another on Shaw's, "That's enough!" She then turned toward Chuck, "A word?" she snapped at him. When he did not respond, she grabbed him by the arm and led him over to a corner. She roughly let go of his arm, "What is wrong with you?" She hissed.

"Sarah, if you would have heard the way that he was talking about you, you would agree that my actions were perfectly justifiable." Chuck tried to defend himself.

Sarah crossed her arms, "What did he say, Chuck?"

Chuck reiterated the conversation to her, but instead of calming down, Sarah seemed to get more upset.

"And why would your reaction to what his intentions are be different from your reaction to when Bryce asked me out?" She questioned.

Chuck shook his head in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"Bryce told me what you said when he told you that he had asked me out. You said that you were happy for him, even if I was just a one-night stand."

Chuck winced, "Oh, that."

"Yeah, that. Now what makes this any different?" Sarah asked.

"Because I didn't care about you then," Chuck reasoned, "That's the difference. I care about you now, and I don't want to see you get hurt by some low-life scumbag who is trying to take advantage of you. I always knew that Bryce wasn't going to take advantage of you. He may have slept around a lot, but he respected women. Shaw's an entirely different breed."

"Chuck, I know what I'm getting myself into. You should be happy for me."

Chuck bit his lip nervously before saying, "I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm not happy for you."

Sarah took a deep breath, "Then maybe we shouldn't be friends for a while," She said.

"No, Sarah, we don't have to…" Chuck protested, but Sarah cut him off.

"Chuck, if you can't support me, then you aren't much of a friend anyway."

"But Sarah…"

"Goodbye, Chuck."

"Sarah, please…"He called after her, but she had disappeared into the crowd.

Sarah walked away from him, stifling a sob. That was by far the hardest thing that she had ever done. Yes, it even topped giving up her trust fund for a life with Bryce. She loved Chuck very much, but she could never be with him the way she wanted to, so she had settled for something else. But lately it had been getting more and more difficult to reason with Chuck. He should have understood; he should have supported her. Why didn't he?

Chuck put his hands in his pockets and kicked at the dust with his feet. He could not believe what had just happened. How could Sarah not see the trap she was getting herself into? How could she possibly like this guy? Chuck was really fed up with him. He did not know what Shaw's true motives were when it came to Sarah, but he was sure that they did not include making her truly happy. Under any other circumstances, Chuck would have quit working for Daniel Shaw long ago. Sarah did not want to be friends for a while, and Chuck would comply with her wishes. However, as long as Sarah insisted on dating the snake, Chuck was going to stick around. There was no way that he was going to leave her helpless at the mercy of some power-hungry narcissist; never in a million years. He loved her too much to do that to her.

_**I know… you all hate me now because Sarah went with Shaw instead of Chuck. May I refer you back to the title? **__**What **_**was **_**she thinking?  
**_

_**DO NOT WORRY! This is not the end of the story. Shaw will be around for a while longer, but it's all good, because he will eventually go DOWN! This is a Chuck/Sarah fanfic in the romance genre for a reason, people!**_


	12. Long Days Journey into Night

_**Can anybody say, hip hip hooray? I have my next chapter written! **_

_**Big, huge special thanks to BdaddyDL and Supesfan18. I seriously could not have written this chapter without you guys. They really did most of the heavy lifting. I just wrote.**_

**_Oh, and here's a link to my fan trailer, if you haven't seen it yet. I didn't make it, but the girl that did is AWESOME! _**/watch?v=vpj2i_9HrZQ

**Long Day's Journey into Night**

Chuck drove up to Stanford the next week. He had promised to go and visit Jill, and now was as good a time as any. He didn't have anything better to do, anyway.

He had not talked to Sarah since the pier, even though he was desperately trying to get a hold of her. He had gone to the Orange Orange, only to find that she was no longer working there. When he went to her apartment, she wasn't home. He had asked Colleen, Shaw's assistant, about her, but she had no idea where Sarah was either. She had promised, however, to keep her eyes and ears open for any clues.

He walked up the stairs to Jill's apartment. He decided to try and call Sarah one more time. He was still on the phone when he got to the apartment, and the phone rolled over to voicemail just as Jill opened the door."

"Damn it." Chuck whispered under his breath.

"It's good to see you too, sweetie," Jill stated a little sarcastically.

"Oh, no, baby, I'm sorry." He paused for a moment, "Hey there," He said softly as he kissed her.

"Hey," She giggled against his lips, and then she pulled away, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," He smiled as he leaned in for another kiss, but Jill pulled back.

"So what was the 'damn it' about?"

"Oh," he chuckled slightly, looking down at his phone, "I'm trying to get a hold of Sarah."

"Why?"

"Why?" He repeated, "Because she's mad at me and she's dating my creep of a boss, that's why."

"Sarah's dating Daniel Shaw?" Jill asked in surprise.

"Yep."

"And she's mad at you because you tried to stop her. Am I right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Why would you do that?"

"I don't know. I don't like him. She's way too good for him."

"And why do you care?" Jill asked, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"I just care, okay?" Chuck snapped.

Jill didn't say anything. She just looked hurt.

Chuck quickly regretted what he had done, "Look honey, I'm sorry."

She smiled sadly, "It's okay that you're concerned about your friend, but, who she dates is really her business, Chuck."

"I know, but…"

Jill cut him off, "No buts. Now, if you don't mind, I haven't made love to my fiancé in a very long time."

"Do your worst."

x-x-x-x-x-x

_NEXT DAY—TAKING A WALK_

"Damn it!" Chuck nearly threw his phone on the ground in frustration.

"What?" Jill asked.

"I need to talk to her, Jill. It's driving me completely insane!"

"Chuck, calm down. Shaw's not going to do anything to hurt Sarah. I'm sure of that."

_AT THE OUTDOOR MARKET_

"Pick up the phone Sarah," Chuck muttered under his breath.

_Hey it's Sarah, leave a message._

"Sarah, hey, it's me. Please call me. I just need to talk to you. I just want to know if you're okay. So give me a call back as soon as you get this—if not sooner, or—at your earliest…convenience. Okay, bye."

Jill gave him a menacing look.

"What?'' He asked obliviously.

Jill just huffed at him.

_THAT NIGHT AT JILL'S APARTMENT_

Chuck was at the end of his rope. He had two choices, leave Sarah alone, or do something that he never thought he would have to do. He opted for the latter and picked up his phone.

"Hey, Jim, it's your old buddy Chuck."

"_Chucky! How's things been goin' for ya? Ya know the station hasn't been the same without ya."_

"Thanks, Jimmy, I miss all of you guys too. But that's not why I called. I actually need a favor."

"_Shoot, man."_

"I need you to look up Sarah Walker. She's missing."

"_Like, kidnapped missing?"_

"No, like, she's not answering her phone missing."

"_Come on, man, you know I can't do that."_

"Please, Jim, you're my last hope."

"_Sorry, Pal, no can do. I really am sorry._

Chuck hung up the phone and angrily threw it across the room. He had not been this frustrated, well, ever. However the phone made a seemingly larger thud than it should have when it hit the other wall. Then he realized that Jill was standing in front of him, and had dropped a large three ring binder on the table. Now she was just standing there, her arms crossed.

"What's that?" Chuck motioned at the binder.

"That—that is our wedding Chuck. That's right, you heard me, _our wedding."_

"You've been planning a wedding?" Chuck asked in shock. He slowly reached for the binder and began to open it, but Jill slammed it shut, which startled him.

"Yeah, Chuck, I have. I've been up here missing you so much that I actually planned our perfect wedding, and all the while you've been down there, gallivanting around with that blonde whore you call your best friend."

Chuck's frustration and surprise quickly turned to anger. "What did you call her?"

"You heard me, Chuck."

"You bet I did. How could you say that?"

Jill just shook her head and chuckled menacingly, "You know what, Chuck, we never would have gotten married, would we have?"

"Why do you say that?"

"It's a pattern with you. Everything you've done, you let Bryce do first. Don't you see it? He joined the football team, and then you did. He decided to become a police officer, so you did it too. Chuck, you turned down a Scholarship to Stanford for it! He asked Sarah to marry him, and the very same day, we got engaged. You followed his every lead, and once he was gone, you got stuck. When he died, the only thing he left for you to do after him was Sarah."

"You are so out of line."

"Out of line? Really Chuck? That's the best you can say? From my point of view, you're the one who's out of line."

"How is that?"

"You're in love with her, Chuck!"

"Jill how could you even think that? That's not true!'' However, deep down, Chuck knew that it was. Even so, He took her hands in his and said, "Jill, I love you." which also was true.

"You've been calling and texting Sarah ever since you've been here. We have barely even gotten a chance to talk. You might love me, but you're _in_ love with her. The funny thing is, everybody sees it but you."

"Because it's not true," Chuck insisted

"Yeah, yeah it is! Chuck. You know what? She looked down at her engagement ring and pulled it off her finger, "Take your stupid ring back." She threw it at him.

"Jill, why are you doing this?" Chuck asked falteringly.

"I can't get married to a man knowing that he's in love with someone else! What person would be stupid enough to do that?"

"Jill…" He whispered.

"You should leave."

"Jill, please, can we just talk?"

"Get the hell out of my house, Chuck." Jill raised her voice slightly

He stood there forlornly after he went out the door and glanced down at the diamond ring that she had left lying in his hand. He understood where Jill was coming from, in a sense, but her timing could not have been worse. He felt as if he had just watched his last chance at a life walk away from him. He needed to talk to someone, but whom?

Chuck left Palo Alto early the next morning, his heart heavy. He didn't want to admit to himself that he was in love with Sarah, but he knew it was true. And now, Jill had left him because of it. He felt as if his life was over.

It was on his way home that he remembered today was Bryce's birthday. He recalled last year on this day, he and Bryce were both at Chuck's house celebrating. They had gotten just a little too drunk. Chuck laughed as he remembered that it was the only time he had ever seen Sarah angry at Bryce, and boy, was she angry, too! She had a good reason though; she had been wakened out of her precious sleep to come get him and drive him home.

Chuck could not believe it. So much had happened; so much had changed; it didn't feel like it had been a year since that happened, it felt more like a decade.

Chuck had put off going to Bryce's grave until today. He pulled up to the cemetery and got out. For so long, he had dreaded the day that he and Sarah would come back here. But, here he was, minus Sarah. He wondered if she had even remembered what today was. Chuck wondered how Sarah was doing today. He hadn't seen her since the arcade incident. He knew she was angry with him, but he missed her.

He walked over to the grave and brushed some dead leaves away from the tombstone. He then sat down in front of it.

"Well, buddy, happy birthday. I wish you were here to celebrate. I also wish I didn't have to say this, but there's something I have to tell you, and you're not gonna like it."

He paused and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Bryce, I haven't done right by you and for that I have to apologize. I promised you that I would take care of Sarah. Well, somewhere along the way things got complicated. I love her, you know and I'm not just talking about as a friend. I don't know when it happened, but I do, Bryce, I love her. Even Jill knows it. She dumped me. Just came out and lost it on me. She had every right to, but god, Bryce, I don't know what I'm doing and now Sarah is dating this ass named Daniel Shaw. Every time I see them together I just cringe. I can't help thinking that if I had acted sooner we would be together."

Chuck took another shaky breath, then continued,

"I will find a way to make this right Bryce, I swear to you I will. I won't let her get hurt again. And I know I'm breaking the bro code about lusting after my best friend's woman, but come on, I think even you knew that's why you told me to look after her."

Chuck heard a sound behind him, and when he turned he saw Sarah making her way to the grave. Then he saw what she had come in. He was shocked. She had come to honor her dead fiancé's memory in a limo. Shaw was probably with her. More than likely, they were on their way to some fancy dinner and just happened to be passing by the cemetery, Chuck thought bitterly. Nevertheless, he was happy to see Sarah. However, she didn't even seem to notice him as he stood up and stepped back to allow her to approach the grave.

Sarah knelt down in front of the tombstone. Slowly, she traced the letters with her finger. He heard her say something, but he was beyond earshot, so he couldn't make out what exactly she said, but he could tell she was crying.

Sarah stared at the gravestone, tears rolling down her face. "I should have come and talked you a long time ago, Bryce. You know I'll never love anyone like I loved you, but I'm so confused right now, I can barely tell my left hand from my right anymore. I don't know what to do. I like Daniel, but I miss Chuck, and it has become abundantly clear that I can't have both." She took a deep, shaky breath, trying to control her impending storm of tears. "I just- I just wish you were here. Life was so simple before you died. Why did you have to die? It's so unfair!" And it was at that moment that she lost it. She began crying uncontrollably. She felt the tears streaming down her face, and her sobs shook her body to the core. Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Chuck had heard the last thing she said, and had seen her start to cry harder, so he had gone over, bent down, and put his hands on her shoulders. She turned around as quickly as she could, grabbed onto him and sobbed into his shirt. He held her gently, rocking her back and forth, kissing the top of her head once or twice. For a moment, they were just Chuck and Sarah again, kneeling there in the cemetery, on the damp grass, holding each other for dear life. Chuck could even feel himself getting misty eyed.

Meanwhile, Daniel Shaw was still in the car, talking on the phone to none other than Sarah's father, Jack Burton.

_Well, Daniel, you've outdone yourself. I'm proud of you._

"Thank you, sir."

_Now I know I have made a business proposition for you. You know that joining forces with me and starting up a branch of your company in D.C. would be the best thing that you could do at this time, not only for your business, but for my daughter. _

"Yes, sir, I know.

_Have you made a decision?_

"Not yet, sir, I need a few more days to decide."

_That's perfectly fine. It's a big decision, take your time._

It was at that moment that Shaw looked out of the car window, and saw Chuck and Sarah. "Uh, sir, Bartowski's out there."

_Out where?_

"Out in the cemetery, Sir. He is currently sitting on the ground holding your daughter. It's actually a fairly touching scene." Shaw couldn't help smiling a little.

_Touching scene my foot! I thought you said you had gotten rid of him!_

"Well, not exactly sir, I thought I had done enough by breaking off their friendship…"

_And ripping me off for a lot of money. What did you think I was paying you for anyway? Get rid of him, or the whole deal is off._

"But, Mr. Burton…"

_Click (Dial tone)_

Neither Chuck nor Sarah knew how long they sat there, holding each other; they had lost all track of time. In fact, they had lost everything except their sense of touch. However, they broke out of their spell when they heard a loud "Ahem," behind them. It was, of course, Shaw.

Both Chuck and Sarah stood up. Shaw looked repulsively at Chuck, and then took Sarah by the hand and pulled her to him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, seeing her tears.

Sarah nodded her head, and sniffled, "Yeah, I'm fine.

"Then let's go." He put his arm around her, and then looked back at Chuck, "See you around, Chuck." With that, he turned around, and with his arm still around Sarah's shoulders, made his way back to the car.

Chuck stood there dejectedly, wondering what had just happened. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks; his whole life, everything he loved, he had just lost; had just walked away. It felt worse then when Jill broke up with him. It was like a nightmare, and He wanted to just wake up and have it be all okay. Sadly for him, that was not going to happen. He didn't know what to do; there was nothing left for him to do. As far as he was concerned, his life was over.

He arrived home just as the sun was beginning to set. It was a nice, November evening, and Chuck figured that he would just spend the night alone, sitting on his back porch, drinking beer. He got out of the car, grabbed his suitcase out of the trunk, and started toward the door. He stopped short when he saw two enormous suitcases already on his front porch. He furrowed his forehead, "Sarah?"

He saw some movement coming from behind the suitcases, and the person stood up. It was, in fact, _not _Sarah. It was a short, bearded Latino man.

"Morgan?" Chuck asked in disbelief. It was his old friend from grade school. They had grown up together, and along with Bryce, they had gotten jobs at the local Buy More when they were in high school. Morgan had gone on to become a professional chef, with his own TV show on the food network channel. Chuck had not seen him since before Bryce had died. Morgan had wanted to go to the funeral, but was in somewhere in Asia with his girlfriend Anna, at the time, and his flight got mixed up, making him unable to attend. However, that was all in the past; Morgan was now standing on Chuck's front doorstep, surrounded by luggage.

The short bearded man smiled, "Hey buddy, sorry to drop by like this."

"Hey it's okay, man!" Chuck enveloped him in a hug, "How have you been?"

"Okay, I guess. Anna dumped me, kicked me out of the apartment as soon as I got home from my six-month filming schedule."

"Hence the bags?"

"Yeah, so, I was kinda wondering, buddy, if I could crash here for a while, until I can find my own place.''

"Hey, yeah man, no problemo!" Chuck slapped Morgan on the shoulder, "Come on in."

They went in the house, "Wanna beer?" Chuck asked.

"Ah, no, but I'd love a grape soda." Morgan replied.

"Ah, yes, Morgan the grape-soda-holic."

Chuck came out of the kitchen with a grape soda for Morgan and a beer for himself. He tossed the can over to him, then plopped down on the couch, and let out a huge sigh. He then tossed the ring that Jill had returned to him on the coffee table.

"What's that?" Morgan asked.

"That, my friend, is the worst day of my life, staring me right in the face."

"Dude, what happened?" Morgan asked.

Chuck just took a sip of his beer.

Morgan wasn't about to give up. "Hey, man whatever it is, you can tell me." Morgan moved to the edge of his seat, "Come on; talk to Uncle Morgan. What's up?"

"Well, I broke up with my girl friend last night, or rather she broke up with me," He took another sip of his beer, and then chuckled cynically, "Oh and I broke up with my best friend last week," _another sip of beer, _"Or rather… she broke up with me."

"Wow man, that sucks, what happened?"

"Between me and Jill or me and Sarah?" Chuck asked.

"Both," Morgan clarified, "but start with what happened with you and Jill."

"She just flipped out on me. She called Sarah a whore, we got into a big argument, and she gave me back her ring and showed me the door."

"Geez, I'm sorry man. Are you okay?"

"Thanks buddy, and no, I'm not okay."

Morgan made a motion with his hand, "Keep talking."

I love Jill, a lot." Chuck continued, "Those were nine of the greatest years of my life that just got thrown down the drain. I'm never going to get 'em back."

"I just don't get it man, I mean, if there was one person in the world who I thought understood me, it was Jill. But she lost it, and now I'm never gonna see her again."

He took another drink of his beer, but then realized it was gone, so he got up and went into the kitchen for another. "Do we really have to talk about this right now?" He asked as he entered the room again, on the verge of tears.

"Well, no, I guess not, but I do want to know what happened between you and Larkin's girl." Morgan replied

"Okay, fine, but I'm not going to go into a lot of detail okay?"

Chuck couldn't help it though; he ended up filling Morgan in on _every_ detail of his and Sarah's relationship, including the time that they accidentally slept together, and the time that they kissed. He brought him up to speed on the Shaw situation as well.

"Well, I can see why Jill broke up with you." Morgan muttered.

"Morgan!"

"Hey buddy, I'm sorry. Anyway, from what you're telling me, this Shaw dude's a real prick." Morgan pointed out.

"Ya think?" Chuck asked sarcastically, "I just can't figure out what she sees in the guy."

"I take it you want to get her away from him?"

"Yeah, but I can't see how, buddy, I mean, Sarah and I aren't exactly speaking, and I can't really do much about Shaw."

"You're a cop; can't you do some digging around? See if this guy has any dirt on him?" Morgan wondered.

"Morgan, I quit the force almost a year ago." Chuck reminded him.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. Hmmm," He paused, "Then I guess that we're gonna have to do this the old fashioned way."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, we're going to have to spy on Sarah."

"Wha… Morgan!" Chuck reprimanded, "That's the most moronic plan I've ever heard!

"Does she have any family that we could ask about her?"

"I don't know, maybe her brother?"

"Sarah has a brother?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, well, step-brother; John Casey. He doesn't live that far from here."

"Hmmm, and what does this John Casey do for a living?"

"I don't know," Chuck replied, getting up to get yet another beer. All I know is that he helped me get my job at Castle.

"Maybe we should talk to him. He at least might know where she's living."

"Maybe, yeah, he knows Shaw better than I do, and he probably could shed some light on why in the world Sarah would do something like this, too."

"You got his number?"

"I do."

"Call him."

"Not right now."

"Call, him, Chuck."

"Alright!" Chuck pulled his phone out, "Geez I didn't know it meant that much to you."

"It doesn't buddy, but you do, and trust me on this one, it means that much to you, so call him."

Morgan eyed the beer bottles in front of Chuck, concernedly. He also listened to the slurred voice of his friend as he spoke with this Casey fellow. Chuck had been in similar states before, but when the drinking came before the cheese ball eating, it was never a good sign. _This is bad,_ he thought,_ But what can I do? _Morgan didn't know, but something had to be done, or his friend was going to be a lost case forever.

_**x-x-x-x-x**_

_**And there you have it! Review?**_


	13. Small World

_**Well, I did it. Here is the next chapter of No Mere **__**Coincidence**__** !**_

I want to thank fellow Nerd Syndicate members BDaddyDL, Armysfc , and Supesfan18 for their help and support, as well as their friendship. Oh, and for putting up with my craziness.

BdaddyDL and Armysfc, thank you for all of your input and ideas. Also thank you both for always being willing to do a quick read-through. I couldn't have done nearly as well on this chapter without your help!

Supesfan18 , thank you , well, for practically writing the Casey part, and for all the rest of your help. I honestly could not have done it without you, and I still can't. I will be using your notes for pretty much the rest of the story.

Thanks to rockchick4jc for her lightning-fast beta. Seriously, it was fast.

Last but not least, thanks to all my wonderful readers who waited so patiently. You are all awesome!

If you haven't read the Nerd Syndicate Authors one shot "Casey vs. The Memory," I strongly recommend you do. It might help you to understand a little better some of the situations that are set forth in this chapter.

So now, without further ado, I present to you the thirteenth chapter...

**Small World**

"_Hello"_

"Is this…John Casey?"

"_Yes"_

"Mr. Casey, this is Chuck Bartowski, I'm…"

"_I know who you are, Moron, what do you want?"_

"Uhh, how did you know…"

"_Caller ID, dumbass, now cut to the chase, what do you want?" _

"I ummm, wanted to talk to you about Sarah."

"_Sarah? You mean my sister, Sarah Walker?"_

"Well, yes, you see…"

"_Is she in some sort of trouble?"_

"No, well, yes. Maybe, I don't know."

"_Do you realize that you have just given me every possible answer you could have?"_

"Look, maybe we should talk in person."

"_Okay."_

"Like maybe, tonight?"

"_Is she dead?"_

"No"

"_Dying?"_

"No."

"_Hurt?"_

"No"

"_God forbid she's been kidnapped."_

"Nope."

"_Then it can wait until morning."_

"But…"

"_You do realize it's 11:30 at night?"_

"Sir, we really need to talk."

"_Well if she's not any of the above mentioned things, what could possibly be so goddamn important?"_

"It's about who she's dating. You do know who she's dating, right?"

"_You mean to tell me, that you woke me out of a good night's sleep just to whine about a problem you have with Sarah's boyfriend? Look, Moron, let me make one thing very clear: I don't care who my sister dates, and I don't meddle in her relationships as long as she's safe, got it? Goodbye, Bartowski."_

"Wait, wait, Mr. Casey! You do know that she's dating Daniel Shaw, right?"

There was a silence, and Chuck was concerned that Casey had hung up, but then he heard the man on the other line grunt angrily, and then he said, "_I will be at your house at 7 am sharp. Don't make me wait."_

"So," Morgan began after Chuck hung up the phone, "What did he say?"

"Where's my scotch?"

"What?"

"I said, where's my scotch?" Chuck repeated. "I know I took it out and set it on the counter right here."

"I put it away while you were on the phone. Now, what did this Casey guy say?"

Chuck started rummaging through the cabinet, "Where'd you put it?"

"It's there, I just hid it. Now what did Casey say?"

"I can't find it, Morgan!"

"You know what? You're pathetic." Morgan grumbled

"Fine! He said he'd be here at seven o' clock sharp tomorrow morning."

"Then no more alcohol for you; You need to be good and sober tomorrow."

"Fine." Chuck relented.

"Well, Buddy, I'm tired. Mind showing me to a room?"

"Uh, no, don't mind. Guest bedroom. First, no, second door on the right," Chuck lamely pointed up the stairs.

"Thanks pal, I'll show myself up. Get some sleep, and remember…"

"No alcohol got it." Chuck interrupted.

"Don't forget!" Morgan called from the top of the stairs.

"Won't." Chuck mumbled.

Chuck waited until he was sure Morgan was not coming back downstairs before he got off the couch and went into the kitchen. He began rummaging through the cabinets, monotonously muttering, "Where did you put the Scotch, Morgan?"

x-x-x-x-x-x

_Ding-dong!_

Chuck woke with a start, to find himself on his bed with the sun shining brightly in his eyes, blinding him, and was that…the doorbell?

That was confirmed when he heard it again, it was like a cheese-grater to his ears.

_Ding-dong!_

"Morgan, stop that noise." He muttered sleepily.

_Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong!_

"MORGAN! MAKE THAT STOP!" Chuck yelled, his voice muffled by the pillow he had over his face, hiding his eyes from the binding sun that was shining through the front window.

Morgan walked into Chuck's room, "Dude, there is a seriously huge guy at the door. I'm assuming it's John Casey."

"John Ca…Oh, shit! Chuck rapidly got up, but as soon as he did, he sat back down. He felt as if his head had been hit by a crowbar.

"Here, drink this." Morgan instructed, shoving a coffee cup into Chuck's hands, "Black coffee, you need to sober up real fast. I'll go let him in while you get cleaned up. By the way, man, do you ever wash those sheets? They reek."

Chuck muttered something, but Morgan was already out the door.

Chuck drank the coffee, and then slowly stood up. When he was sure he was steady, he made his way into the bathroom where he splashed water on his face and combed his hair. He then looked in the mirror, and realized how rumpled his clothes were.

"Hey Morgan!" He called as he walked out of the bathroom, "Tell Casey I'm gonna be a few minutes. I have to…"

He stopped short when he saw a large, muscled man standing in front of him, a very no-nonsense look on his face. It was the kind of face that would bring most people to their knees to beg for forgiveness, even if they hadn't done anything wrong. But Chuck didn't see any of that. He knew this guy from somewhere.

"John Casey?" He asked tentatively.

"Chuck Bartowski."

"You two know each other or something?" Morgan asked.

Both men ignored Morgan's question, "You're Detective John Casey, I remember you, from the…"

"Emily Kiplinger case. I know."

"The what case?" Morgan interjected.

"Never mind," Chuck and Casey replied simultaneously as they walked down the stairs.

They sat down at the table. "So," Casey began, "I'm here. Now tell me, just why am I here? I have five minutes."

"Well," Chuck shrugged, "What do you know about Daniel Shaw? Other than he's dating Sarah, of course."

"Ugh," Casey grunted, "Crooked jerk. When he was a kid, he'd do pretty much anything to make a buck, when you have that much of a lust for money, it don't leave. He also has no respect for women, and he'll use them to get what he wants. I don't like him. Although he is a good contact, and if I remember, I'm the reason you have your job. So, Bartowski, don't screw it up."

"And I'm the reason Sarah's dating him." Chuck muttered, then he cleared his throat, "Look, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. I have feelings for your sister, however I am going through a lot and I know I'm not right for her right now, I realize that. That said, she can't keep going on with Shaw.

"I agree, he's up to some game with her." Casey replied, "But…"

"What do you mean, game?" Chuck interjected.

"Look, Bartowksi, my sister is a grown woman. I stay out of her life. I told you, she stays out of mine and I stay out of hers. If she has to learn the hard way, then that is what has to happen. Now your 5 minutes are up." Casey got up to leave.

"Will you just sit down and shut up?" Chuck snapped.

Casey sat back down, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Listen…" Chuck began.

"Oh, I'm listening."

"If what you say is true, Shaw is using Sarah. I don't know for what except to get a bug under my skin, she is not talking to any of her friends, she has been kicked out of her apartment, and or moved out, and she quit her job. You know as well as I do she left DC to get away from the trust fund and the influence her dad had on her, and she's getting sucked back into the same thing now. So please help me figure out what is going on before we lose her forever."

Casey sat there, scratching his face for a few seconds, "Okay, let's say that I believe you. What do you propose?"

"Uhhh," Chuck stalled.

Up until this point, Morgan had been sitting there quietly, looking at Casey, then Chuck, then back at Casey, then at Chuck again, as if he was wondering _which one was gonna swing first_. But now he spoke.

"Um, well, I have a plan if anyone's interested."

Chuck nodded, "Go for it Morgan."

"Guys this is stalking 101. We need someone to get Shaw's phone records to see who he has been talking to. Chuck here can build a wire tap. We need someone to tail Shaw and see what he is up to and we need someone to keep an eye on Sarah, maybe bug her apartment or something. Come on, do I have to think of everything?"

Chuck and Casey glared at Morgan like he was crazy.

"What?" He asked.

"Morgan, we don't need to stalk Sarah, we just need to make sure she stays safe." Chuck said.

_And who would do that? _Casey wondered, _The drunk sitting in front of me, or the bearded monkey he calls his friend?_

"Hey!" Morgan and Chuck uttered simultaneously.

It was then that Casey realized he had been thinking aloud, but he didn't apologize, "Okay, I like the way the bearded monkey thinks, so he can figure out a way to keep an eye on her. Bartowski, you start on that wire tap, and focus on the phone logs. Compile all the information you get into a search engine. That will help you come up with a more definitive plan. Also, keep trying to talk to Sarah."

"I'm afraid I'm all talked out. I left like, 300 messages on her phone," Chuck informed him.

"Ugh," Casey grunted, "I can't believe I'm getting involved, but I'll talk to her. If I get the feeling there's more going on, I'll help you move forward with the plan."

"Casey, what is your problem?" Chuck asked, "This is your sister we're talking about."

Casey stood up to leave, "You used to be a good cop, Bartowski, but what I am looking at now, I wouldn't help you get date with the skank around the corner much less help save your relationship my sister. You need to get your act together." With that he marched out and slammed the door shut behind him.

"Well, that went well," Morgan muttered.

When Chuck didn't respond, Morgan racked his brain for another subject. He finally came up with one.

"So, small world, huh?" Morgan elbowed Chuck.

"What do you mean?" Chuck asked him, obliviously.

"You and Casey, worked on a case together all those years ago! That's awesome! What did you say it was? A girl, right? Erica? Eleanor?"

"Emily. Emily Kiplinger." Chuck took a deep breath. This was not the easiest thing to talk about.

"So what was it? A murder? Kidnapping?"

Chuck snapped, "It was an eight year old girl, okay? Casey found her in a rain basin, called for backup, and Bryce and I went. We lowered him in there with a rope, and he tried to revive her, but she had been dead too long. Please, just please don't make me relive that night, Morgan, please."

"God, man, I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it anymore."

"So what's your plan?" Chuck asked

"What do you mean, _my_ plan?"

"To keep an eye on Sarah. Casey said you were supposed to do that."

"I'm the bearded monkey?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Morgan scratched his beard, "I don't know buddy, but I'll think of something. Don't worry, we're gonna get you your girl back."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Sarah walked into Shaw's office, "Hi!" She greeted him cheerfully.

Shaw looked up from the papers on his desk, "Well hello there," he replied, standing up to give her a peck on the lips.

"You asked me to come to your office, is something wrong?" Sarah asked tentatively.

"What?" Shaw leaned in for another kiss, "No, nothing's wrong."

Sarah backed away, "Daniel, what's going on?"

"Have a seat."

Sarah sat down in one of Shaw's plush burgundy leather chairs. She always felt so corporate when she sat in his office, and this time was no different.

"I want to offer you a job."

x-x-x-x-x-x

It wasn't until two days later that Chuck went back to work. He had taken the time off to go visit Jill, and since the vacation had been cut short, he had two extra days.

He walked into Castle with Morgan in tow.

"Dude, this building is really awesome!" Morgan exclaimed. While doing his cooking show Morgan had been to several countries and filmed on many TV sets, but the Castle enterprise building is amongst the finest he had been in. "It looks like your running with the big dogs now Chuck."

"Thanks Morgan," Chuck replied, trying to hold back a chuckle.

They made their way up to Chuck's office. Morgan's eyes were constantly moving back and forth taking in the opulent surroundings of Castle enterprises.

They finally reached Chuck's office and entered it. It was pretty much the standard office with a medium sized maple desk and several filing cabinets along one wall.

"Chuck, dude, you need to add some life to your office," began Morgan. "It's plain, boring and depressing."

"With everything that's been going on lately I haven't felt like doing anything with it. I guess it matches my mood." Chuck sighed exasperated.

"Well we are just going have to change that. You're a software design supervisor; add some electronics design pictures, things like that. Tell you what, I'll take a little walk around the floor and see how some of the other people decorated their offices."

Chuck was dialing the phone, "Yeah, sure, go ahead." He answered absentmindedly.

Morgan wandered around the floor, exploring every nook and cranny. He was walking back to Chuck's office, when he noticed an open door into a large office. A stunning, blonde woman was standing at the desk, going through a stack of papers. He knew just by looking at her that she was the famous Sarah Walker.

Morgan stood dumbfounded in the doorway. "Woah- Wow, nice- office," He finally managed to utter.

She looked up, "Hi," she smiled, "Are you my temp?"

"Your what?" Morgan asked, still taken aback by this woman's beauty. No wonder Chuck had a thing for her.

She laughed, "Sorry, I should introduce myself; I'm Sarah Walker, the new Special Projects Coordinator. She shook his hand, "I was wondering if you're my temporary assistant."

"Uh, no, I'm Morgan," He cleared his throat, "Morgan Grimes? I'm here visiting a friend."

"Well, nice to meet you, Morgan Grimes," Sarah smiled. "I won't keep you."

"Nice meeting you Miss Walker." Morgan hesitated a moment before inspiration hit. He remembered some of the things assistants in the industry had to do and figured he would give it a shot. "Is there anything I could help you with right now? I have a few minutes before I need to get back to my friend."

"That's really nice of you Morgan but I really couldn't impose on you like that."

"Its no imposition at all Miss Walker, I offered to help didn't I?"

"Please call me Sarah," as she extended her hand which Morgan accepted. "You seem like a nice guy, I could use a hand for a few minutes if you're sure you could spare the time."

"Not a problem Sarah, who knows if you like my work maybe you could put a good word in for me with the bosses?"

"I'll give it some thought, now let's get started." With the conversation finished they began to work.

3 HOURS LATER…

Sarah glanced up at the clock, "Morgan, I have to go to a meeting, would you mind staying here and waiting for my temp to show up? They were supposed to be here by now, but you never know. If you need to get back to your friend, that's ok, but I was just wondering."

"No problem at all, Sarah, I'd be glad to," Morgan smiled.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely, now go. You don't want to be late." Morgan handed her clipboard and blazer to her.

"Thank you so much, Morgan." Sarah called as she ran out the door, "I'd keep you forever if I could!"

Inspiration once again hit Morgan. He turned and made his way back over to the desk, chuckling and shaking his head in approval of his idea. Just them He heard a woman's voice from behind him.

"Excuse me?"

Morgan whirled around, "Yes?" He smiled.

"Is this Sarah Walker's office? I'm her temp."

"Her temp?" Morgan repeated.

"Yes, I apologize for being late. Where is Miss Walker?" The woman craned her neck and looked around as if she was trying to spot Sarah hiding somewhere in the office.

"Ohhh," Morgan sighed sympathetically, "I'm sorry, miss, but the permanent assistant position has been filled. Miss Walker will not be requiring your services."

"It's been filled _already_?" The woman asked, disbelievingly.

Morgan chuckled, "I know, crazy, right? Well, you have a good day, and good luck!" With that he hustled the startled girl out of the office.

x-x-x-x-x-x

After her meeting, Sarah walked into the cafeteria. Chuck was in there, sitting at a table, eating a sandwich. Sarah walked over to the coffee pot, and then turned her head briefly to look at him, "Hi Chuck."

"Hi," He replied, his mouth full. Then he swallowed, "What'cha doing here?"

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Sarah turned back to the coffee pot and grabbed a cup out of the cupboard, "I'm the new Special Projects Coordinator."

Chuck stopped chewing, and his eyes got wide.

She chuckled, "Well don't look so shocked. I had to put my Harvard degree to use somehow, and Daniel offered me the job."

"Oh, I'm not shocked, just caught me a little off guard is all." Chuck answered, "But since you've probably been here all day, you didn't happen to see a short, bearded…"

Just then Morgan walked into the cafeteria, and Sarah cut him off, "Morgan! Hey! Did my temp ever show up?"

Morgan stopped in his tracks, "Uh, nope, never did."

Chuck was looking back and forth between his two friends, his eyes wider than they had ever been, "Do you two…?" He trailed off.

"Oh, Chuck, I'd like you to meet my assistant, Morgan Grimes," Sarah said. Then she turned to Morgan, and smiled, "That is, if you want the job."

_**Now, who's ready for a plot twist? Coming soon, but I won't say in what chapter; there will be a bit of a shocking revelation. Nope, supesfan18, not even you know what it is!**_

_**Thanks for reading. Please be kind and review!**_


	14. Loved, Lost and Confused

_**Well, here's chapter 14-finally! Not much to say except special thanks as always to BdaddyDL, ArmySFC and supesfan18 for all their hard work in helping me bring another chapter to completion. Also thanks to Nirvana12 for his input and to rockchick4jc for another super beta job!**_

_**So, without further ado (because my long Authors Notes are boring and no one reads them anyway), I present to you:**_

**Loved, Lost and Confused**

Sarah Walker was having one of those mornings. Before she was even out of bed, her phone was ringing. Granted, she had woken up late, the perils of hitting the snooze button one too many times, but still, she never could figure out how a Special Projects Coordinator could be so needed.

She hopped into the kitchen holding her phone to her ear with one hand, and trying to put her shoe on with the other. Being in her stocking feet was causing her problems on the slick tile floor. Each time she attempted to put on her shoe, the foot hopping on the floor would slide, causing her to tip over to one side and she had to grab the table for support. She almost landed on her butt several times and was lucky to have only dropped her phone once.

_Finally! _Sarah thought as she hung up the phone after her fourth conversation in the last 30 minutes. She sat her phone on the counter, and began making herself breakfast; Toast.

It was becoming a staple in her diet. It was quick, easy, and she didn't really have to think about making it. Just pop it in the toaster and forget about it, add butter, her favorite jelly and she was good to go.

_Now what am I forgetting to do this morning? _She drummed her fingertips on the counter, her pinky landing first followed by the rest of her fingers in a continuous fashion, as she tried to remember. _Oh! Jewelry! _She ran back into her room, and was just about to open her jewelry box, when she smelled her toast burning. _Crap. _She picked up her jewelry box and carried it into the kitchen with her.

But as her feet met the slippery linoleum, she lost her balance and although she was able to grab onto the kitchen table and balance herself, the box fell from her hands and crashed onto the floor, scattering earrings, bracelets, rings and necklaces all over the floor. _Dammit! _She cussed under her breath.

She got up and made her way to the toaster oven to remove her charred toast. When she opened the door to the toaster oven a rancid cloud of grey smoke poured out, confirming her suspicions of the condition of her toast. She removed the still smoking bread; quickly placing it in the trash bin next to the sink hoping that the mishap wouldn't set off the smoke detectors in the room. When the cleanup was complete she began to gather the scattered items. She performed a quick inventory to be quite certain everything had been accounted for, and then she closed the lid to the jewelry box and set it on the table.

She turned to walk back into the kitchen, and when she did, she spied a small, shiny object peeking out from underneath the stove. She scrunched her nose quizzically, _now what could that possibly be? _She bent down and picked it up, and when she saw what it was, her breath hitched. It was her engagement ring from Bryce.

Her stomach began to churn, and tears started to form in her eyes. Her mind flashed back to all the good times she had with Bryce. From their first date at the Chinese restaurant to the day they got engaged and finally to the day that would changer life…

_"Bryce is dead."_

_Sarah took a step back, "You're joking, right?"_

_"Sarah, I wouldn't joke about something like this. Not to you. I'm sorry."_

_Oh my god." She said softly, "Oh my god! She cried, "No! Chuck, NO!" She crashed into his arms and he embraced her, rocking her back and forth. _

She stared at it. She had only worn the ring for a day. She had taken it off after she found out Bryce had been killed because it was just too painful to look at. Now, here it was again, staring her in the face. What would he think of this mess she was in now?

She scrambled to get up off the floor, clutching the ring so tightly in her hand that the posts from the setting began to dig into her palm. Grabbing her phone off the counter, she dialed a number.

"Morgan! It's Sarah…Yeah I know I'm late…No, I'm not coming in today…Yes, I think it would be a good idea to cancel my 12:30 lunch with Daniel…I don't know what you should tell him…No, don't tell him my hamster died, I don't even have a hamster…I'm fine Morgan, just need a day off…yeah I will…you too…okay, bye."

She needed to be alone, to think, and she knew just the place. A place where no one would even think of bothering her, because nobody really knew the place existed. Yes, Chuck's beach was the perfect place. She dropped the ring into her pocket, grabbed her purse, and walked out the door.

...

Chuck was sitting at his desk, presumably working, but really, he wasn't. He was actually sitting at his desk, staring at his computer desktop, and mindlessly clicking his mouse all over the page. He was placing the pointer at certain places on the desk top and holding down the left mouse button making different size boxes. His only goal was to see how many of his icons he could include in the box before it disappeared when he lifted up his finger. It wasn't that there wasn't any real work to be done; in fact, he had less than eight weeks to finish the video game he was designing. He just couldn't think of anything but Sarah, and it was preventing him doing it.

Just then his assistant Amanda walked in, "Mr. Bartowski here's your coffee, and can you sign this? She walked over and stood next to his chair, setting the coffee and papers in front of him. Then she wrinkled her nose and gave him a confused grin as she looked over at his monitor, "What are you doing?"

Chuck sighed as he picked up his coffee failing to notice the aromatic scent of the steaming brew, "Nothing. I can't work. I just, need a break or something." He turned towards her, "Don't you ever just need a break?"

Amanda smiled and leaned over his computer, and began opening up files.

"Mandy, what are you doing?"

She finally found the file she was looking for, and then backed away. "There, work on that."

Chuck shook his head, "Mandy, I don't know…" He trailed off.

"Just do it, Chuck. You're right, you do need a break, and this way, you can be productive as well." Mandy smiled, "Plus, it could help in you getting Sarah back."

"Wait, how do you…?"

She grinned, "I'm your assistant, Mr. Bartowski, there's not much I don't know about you. So, are you gonna take my suggestion and finish that mixed CD, or aren't you?"

He sat in thought for a moment, then turned and smiled back, "Ok, I'll do it."

Three hours later, Chuck was finished, _Geez, _He thought, _I can't believe I put that off for over six months! _He popped the freshly burned CD out of the drive and into the case, got up and headed to Sarah's office.

He passed Morgan, who was sitting at his desk eating an apple and flipping nonchalantly through the pages of the latest issue of _ProGamer Weekly._

"Chuck did you see all the new mods on the Call of Duty? It's gonna be great!"

Chuck brushed right past him, "Not, now, Morgan, I need to see Sarah." He walked into her office, "Hey, Sarah, I…" He stopped short when he realized that the only person occupying the room was himself.

He walked back out to and stood, facing Morgan.

"Oh hey, Chuck, what's up?" Morgan addressed him, not bothering to look up from his magazine.

"Why didn't you tell me Sarah wasn't in there?" Chuck asked.

Morgan looked up, a sarcastic snicker on his face, "Uh, you didn't ask?"

Chuck huffed, frustrated, "Well can you tell me where she is?"

"She took the day off. Her hamster died."

"Her ham…?" Chuck trailed off, a very confused look on his face. "Morgan, she doesn't even have a hamster. Please, tell me where she is. I have this CD that I really need to give to her." He held the CD up for Morgan to see.

Morgan knew exactly what it was, "Buddy, all I know is that she needed to be alone today. I don't know why or where she went."

"Alone…" Chuck said quietly. "Thanks Buddy, I know where she is!"

x-x-x-x-x-x

The hours flew by; the sun was starting to set, just about reaching the horizon and beginning to turn colors to a deep shade of orange. Sarah knew that she would have to go home soon. Then, she heard a voice behind her.

"What are you doing at my secret place?"

Sarah smirked as she stood up and turned around, and brushed the sand off her clothes. "You seriously still call it that? It's sooo lame."

He chuckled, and motioned with his head toward the partially-empty wine bottle on the ground, undoubtedly from his grandmother's beach house. "More breaking and entering, I see? You keep that up you could make a career of it."

"Ohh, ha ha." She retorted.

He smiled and walked over to stand beside her. They stood silently side by side taking in one of the most breath-taking sunsets they had ever seen. The sun was a brilliant fiery red orange seemingly twice the size it was during the day. Where the sea met the sky a band of lighter orange hugged the water spreading out in both directions.

Higher above the smooth water of the Pacific the clouds that were hanging motionless in the sky were turned varying shades of red, from an almost dark pink to a light mauve. The lighter colors were on the front sides of the clouds and the darker shades on the side closest to the beach. It was if the clouds were casting their own shadows upon the clouds that floated behind them.

On the flat and seemingly motionless ocean, the water was reflecting the colors of the sky above it. It was almost impossible to tell where the sky ended and the water began.

For several moments, they just silently faced the sunset.

Chuck turned his head toward her. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Sarah smiled a little, "mm-hmm."

"Like you." Chuck said.

Sarah cast him a brief glance, and once again smiled, but Chuck could tell from her eyes that she was distressed.

He let out a sigh, "Okay, Sarah, tell me what's up."

Sarah looked down, reached into her pocket, and pulled out the ring. Chuck saw it and knew exactly what it was.

She began, "I thought I was over him, but when I saw this ring today, all these memories came flooding back. It was like, like, I had just heard the news again.

"Chuck, all of the sudden, I started to wonder how I make it through the day without him!" Tears began to roll down her face. Chuck took her into his arms, "He's really gone, Chuck," Sarah whispered tearfully into his chest. "And I'm with Daniel now." Sarah could feel Chuck tense when she said that. She pulled away slightly and looked at him questioningly, "Are you ok?"

Chuck let his arms fall to his sides, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Sarah Jill broke up with me because of us, and now here is no us and I don't understand why you're with Shaw and not giving us a

chance. I don't know, Sarah, I guess- I guess I just never thought that something like this could come between us."

"Chuck, it…" Sarah began, but Chuck kept talking.

"You're such a smart girl, and he's given you no reason to stay with him. I guess I'm just wondering why you do."

Chuck could tell that he had struck a nerve. Sarah was silent, trying to compose herself before she began speaking. "Chuck, I…" She paused and turned toward him again, "I can't"

"Can't what?"

"I can't do this. You can't know. I just, can't." And with that she turned and ran up toward her car.

"Sarah!" He ran after her, catching up just as she was opening her car door.

"Chuck, please."

"Look, I don't want to know why, or how or anything. Just answer me one simple question Sarah, please just tell me if you love him."

Sarah didn't say a word. She just stared into his eyes and bit her lip to keep from crying.

"Just tell me, Sarah."

She took a deep breath, "Maybe I do. But Chuck, I want you to know, that no matter what happens, I'll never love _anybody _like I love you."

Chuck could feel himself getting angry, "How can you say that and then insist that we can't be together?"

"Chuck, I'm sorry, there's just some things I can't explain to you."

"Well then don't come back here until you can," he snapped.

The look on Sarah's face went from one of sadness to one of hurt. She didn't say anything, she simply got into her car and sped off.

Chuck stood stunned on the side of the road next to his car, watching the Porsche's vanishing taillights. Why was she being so secretive about her relationship with Shaw? And more importantly, had she really just said what he thought she had said?

He replayed the sentence in his head again and again; _I'll never love anybody like I love you. _That one statement alone was enough to make Chuck's year. But, even with that, she had still chosen Shaw, and he still had no idea why. The only thing he knew was that it had to be stopped before he lost his Sarah for good, but how? Clearly, she did not want to be around him.

Then he picked up his phone and dialed Morgan. Morgan picked up after two rings. _Well?_

"I bombed, Morgan. She ran off before I could give her the CD."

_Dude! Go after her!_

"What? No, Morgan, she ran off. Clearly she doesn't want to be with me right now."

_Chuck, trust me on this one. Buddy, in the back of her mind, she's screaming for you to go after her._

X-x-x-x-x-x

Daniel Shaw was just getting ready to go home for the evening when he heard a soft knock on his door. He looked up to see Amanda standing there.

"Well good evening Miss Bynes, is there something I can do for you?"

She gave him a small smirk as she sauntered into his office, "You told me to find a reason to get Chuck Bartowski fired, and if I couldn't do that, to make one, remember?"

"Yes, of course I remember. I also remember mentioning something about promoting you if you did. Why do you bring it up?"

She reached into her pocket, pulled out a flash drive, and held it in front of him. With a sly grin, she said, "I think I have just the thing."

**_Oooh double cliffhanger! Hope you enjoyed. Please Review!_**


	15. Not What It Looks Like

_**In the previous chapter, we left Chuck on the beach with a wine bottle and a huge decision, and we left Shaw and Mandy discussing possible grounds to fire Chuck. What did Chuck decide? Did he REALLY get fired? Read and see…**_

_**Longer A/N at the end.**_

**Not What it Looks Like**

Chuck hung up the phone. He knew Morgan was right, he just didn't know if he could go after her. He looked down at the wine bottle he had picked up at some point. The red liquid looked so comforting. He slowly raised the bottle to his lips and took a swallow. Nope, wine definitely wasn't going to cut it. He needed something _way_ stronger.

He decided to go home. He needed to think, and drink, and maybe not in that order. When he got to his house, it was entirely dark. Apparently Morgan was not home yet. He made his way into the kitchen and opened up his half-empty bottle of Johnny Walker. Chuck knew in the back of his mind that drinking was not going to help anything, but he didn't care.

He drank, and then he drank some more. He was on his third glass -or was it his fourth- when the realization came to him that he still hadn't given Sarah the CD and he needed to. But he wasn't sure if he should tonight, even though Morgan had pretty much told him that he had to go after her.

He needed to make a decision. And finally he did.

He would go after her. He would follow her to the ends of the earth if he had to because he loved her. It was in that moment that he decided that whatever it took, he was not going to lose his Sarah to Daniel Shaw, a man he knew was only using her; what for, he had no idea. But it was clear Daniel Shaw had an agenda, and Chuck didn't want Sarah anywhere near that.

He got in his car but then remembered that he had forgotten one very important detail. He was just a _little_ drunk. He picked up his phone and called a cab.

The cab arrived, and Chuck got in the back seat. "Where to sir?" The driver asked in a monotonous tone, suggesting that it was pretty much the only three words he said day in and day out.

"Ummm, uhhh."

"Son, I can't take you anywhere until you know where you're going." The driver stated the obvious.

Chuck laughed nervously and held up his finger, digging his phone out of his pocket with the other hand. "Just one second."

He dialed a number on his phone and held it up to his ear.

"Morgan, quick question…Where does she live?"

x-x-x-x-x-x

Shaw eyed Amanda, a hint of excitement in his eyes. "What is it?"

She motioned at his computer, "Do you mind?"

He rolled his desk chair back a ways, "By all means."

Amanda plugged the flash drive in, and pulled the files up. "There you go," she said, stepping out of the way so that Shaw could roll forward and take a look. Amanda watched him as he perused the files. Then he looked back up, Amanda's eyes were hopeful.

"Are you freaking crazy?" Shaw snapped, not giving her a chance to reply, he continued, "A mix CD? How the hell am I supposed to fire him for a mix CD? Last time I checked, it was legal to make these things."

Amanda bit her lip, and then said in a very small voice, "Well he made it during work hours, Mr. Shaw."

Shaw leaned back in his chair and chuckled, "Ohhh, Amanda." He shook his head and laughed a little harder. Then he became serious. He yanked the USB drive out of his computer and tossed it at her. "Get me something _better_."

Amanda turned to leave, but stopped when she got to the door, and turned around, "He made it for Miss Walker, sir."

"Still not grounds to fire him, as much as I hate to say it. Amanda, I have to cover my ass on this one. Chuck is a good employee, and he's done good things for this company." Then in a lower, mumbling tone he said, "I just can't stand his sorry existence."

"But Mr. Shaw this is against all the rules. We have a time frame on this video game and he's messing around with music CD's for _your_ girlfriend!"

Shaw shrugged, "I can't do anything but give him a warning. I'm sorry Amanda, dear, I really am. But you do like your boss, don't you?" He asked, getting up from his desk.

"Yeah, I like him enough, but…"

"But you like the idea of a promotion better." Shaw cut her off as he put his arm around her shoulder and led her to the door.

Amanda looked up at him, startled, "_Well_…"

"Mandy, you don't have to get your boss fired to get the promotion. I can figure out another way to get rid of him. There are…_other_ ways." He finished, removing his arm from around her shoulder and giving her a slap on the ass, grinning mischievously.

Amanda stumbled forward through the doorway. When she stopped, she turned around, and met his grin with a disgusted scowl. Then she just shook her head and walked away.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Chuck made good time in getting to Sarah's new apartment complex. It was quite a bit more upscale from the one she had been living in before, _probably one of the many perks of dating a millionaire_, he thought bitterly. He entered the building, and managed to slip in after a tenant before the door closed. He marched briskly up the stairs, but slowed his pace as he approached Sarah's door. Finally, he was standing in front of it, and he raised his hand and knocked.

Sarah flung the door open, and her blue eyes got wide in surprise; clearly she had not been expecting him. She seemed at a loss for words, but finally managed to choke out a fast and high-pitched, "Chuck? What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" He asked simply.

She opened the door wider and stepped aside to let him pass through. He walked right past her into the living room where he made a beeline for the CD player.

Sarah had followed him, "You still haven't told me why you're here." She noted as she sat down on the couch.

Chuck pulled the CD out of his coat pocket and held it up, "This should explain it." He put the CD in and pressed play.

The music started playing, and Sarah got a confused look on her face, "I don't understand."

He turned around to face her. "It was Bryce's last gift to you. He asked me to make it for him to give to you, and I never finished it. That is, not until today." He paused for a moment, and chuckled a little, "He said once that he couldn't wait to give it to you, because when he did, he and you would dance to the whole thing."

Sarah smiled and looked down at her lap, "It was one of the things we enjoyed doing the most together." She said simply.

He walked over to where she was sitting on the couch and held out his hand, "Now I know I'm not Bryce, but Sarah Walker, would you give me the honor?"

She smiled again, and put her hand in his. He pulled her up off of the overstuffed sofa, and began to sway to the music with him. She felt his strong arm make its way around her waist, she leaned her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes. For the first time in a long time, she felt at home.

They were silent for several minutes, just holding each other, living in the moment. Then Chuck spoke, "So you and Shaw, like are you real serious, or what?"

Sarah hesitated, "Uh, I don't know, you know, it's... different."

"Different how?" Chuck probed.

"Than with you," She answered simply.

Chuck looked down at her, "You know I…" He trailed off when his phone started to ring. He took it out of his pocket. "It's Shaw." He pushed the ignore button. "It can wait."

He went back to swaying Sarah back and forth, and back to talking as well.

"What I was gonna ask you before the phone rang, or what I was going to say anyway, was that I've been um…I've been thinking a lot about what it used to be like between us. Before Shaw, and my job at Castle and all that, and I've just been thinking about what life would have been like for us if we'd made different decisions back then…If_ I_ had made a different decision back then. Maybe we wouldn't be in this mess now."

Sarah buried her face deeper into his chest, and when she did, she immediately smelled the familiar stench of alcohol. "Chuck. . .have you been drinking?"

"Um…yeah, well, you know, I…" At that very moment his phone began to ring again.

Sarah backed away and motioned with her eyes toward his phone, which he had set on the end table after the first time it rang. "You should get that."

He picked it up and saw that it was Casey. "Yeaaaah." He pushed the answer button, "This is Chuck."

"Bartowski, how far have you gotten into this investigation?"

He glanced up at Sarah, who for some reason was just staring at him.

"Uh, no sir I haven't begun running those diagnostics on that component yet."

"_What the hell are you talking about, Bartowski? I just got a visit from the FBI. Stop messing around, this is serious business."_

"Are you sure there's something wrong with the program?"

"_What the fu…Are you drunk Bartowski?"_

"I happen to have it with me right now."

"_It? It what?"_

"You know…IT" Chuck emphasized the 'it', hoping Casey would understand, which he did.

"_You're with Sarah?"_

"Yes, I am. God I thought you'd never figure that out!"

"_Bartowski, I don't know why you're there, but don't do ANYTHING. I need you and the bearded monkey to get over to my place PRONTO."_

"Yeah, sure no problem, but can I just ask…"

_Click_

Chuck glared at his phone for a second before putting it in his pocket and glancing up at Sarah. He gave her a sick smile, as if he had bad news he did not want to share.

"Was that Daniel?"

"Uh, no, but it is a work emergency. I gotta go."

"Well then don't I need to go too?" Sarah asked.

"Nope, just a minor glitch in a program. Don't worry about it. But this conversation we were having," He paused for a second as he put on his jacket, "It is _not_ over." With that he turned and hurried out the door.

Morgan and Chuck drove over to Casey's house. When they got there they were escorted to the kitchen table and sat down. Casey sat down as well, and gave them a disapproving grunt.

"Okay, Casey, enough with the small talk, what's up?" Morgan said.

"I need you two to lay off. I mean, _really_ lay off. Apparently the FBI is investigating Daniel Shaw…"

"And somehow Sarah's involved?" Chuck cut him off, "Oh my god."

"I don't know if Sarah's involved, but I can't have you guys spying on her or Shaw. We can't be interfering with a government investigation, got it?"

"Yeah, got it." Both Chuck and Morgan answered simultaneously.

"Good, now get out of my house. And for heaven's sake Bartowski, get a change of clothes, and maybe a shower. You smell like a distillery."

**Five Minutes Later, In the Car:**

"Lay off? What does he mean, lay off? Morgan, how can we just sit back and watch Sarah do this? I mean how can we…"

"Chuck, Chuck, wait, we don't KNOW if Sarah's involved in any of this, remember?" Morgan tried to calm his friend down. "Maybe she's just an innocent bystander."

"Morgan, you don't know Sarah like I do. And she spends more time with Shaw than my arm spends attached to my shoulder. Trust me if there was something to know, she'd have a pretty good idea of what it was."

"So, from logical deduction, either there's nothing to know, or, Sarah's in on it, is that what you're saying?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah I guess." Then Chuck turned his head to face Morgan, "Buddy, you gotta help me find out!"

"Sorry pal, no can do. There are a lot of stupid things I'd be willing to do for you, but interfering with a federal investigation…"

"I know buddy, it's probably not exactly in your top ten, but still…"

Morgan shook his head, "Not exactly in my top ten? Chuck, it's not _even_ on the list!"

Morgan pulled into their driveway and put the car in park. Then he turned to Chuck and gave him his most serious expression. "I am going to ask you to _please_ just do what Casey said and lay off. Don't do anything stupid. It's not worth it."

From the look on Chuck's face, Morgan knew that Chuck wasn't going to listen, and he was right. The next day, Chuck sat at his desk, once again doing nothing. He had dealt with a few software glitches in the morning, but the afternoon was all but dead. Slowly the day turned into evening, and all Chuck could think about was how Sarah could end up not being the woman he thought she was.

What if she really was in on a scheme with Shaw? It was hard to believe, but it could be the reality of the situation, and it certainly would clarify a lot.

He had heard Casey's and Morgan's warnings, but did they really think he would heed them? Chuck had to laugh quietly to himself at that thought. _His_ Sarah could be in trouble, and what was he supposed to do? Sit back and watch? No, Chuck Bartowski was a man of action, and when it came to the woman he loved, nothing was going to stop him.

He knew Sarah was gone for the day, so he made a decision. What could a little snooping around her office hurt? He was trained to investigate. One could say it was in his blood. If there was something to find in that office, Chuck was sure he would find it.

He walked casually toward her third-floor office and made sure that Morgan wasn't around.

Satisfied that he wouldn't be seen, he entered the office and standing in the doorway, he took a quick sweep of the place with his eyes. Nothing seemed amiss. He went over and sat down at her desk. Opening the top drawer, he wasn't surprised at what he found: Post-its, pens, a stapler, rubber bands and suchlike. He closed it and was about to move on to the next drawer when his leg brushed up against something under the desk. Peering under there, he saw a brown leather briefcase.

It caught his interest so he picked it up and set it on the desk where it would be easier to get a good look at it. The case was locked with a four digit combination. Chuck racked his brain to think of what the combination might be. Sarah was smart, she wouldn't have made this easy, but the numbers she chose would have had some sort of significance, he knew that much.

Chuck tried every combination he could think of; her birthday; his birthday; Shaw's birthday; phone numbers; different anniversaries—all to no avail. Then he realized there was one combination he had not tried, which was the anniversary of Bryce's death. He turned the numbers to line up 0-1-1-5. When that still didn't work, Chuck angrily slammed his hand on the top of the briefcase.

It was at that very moment that Morgan walked in, shuffling a stack of papers and humming a tuneless song. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Chuck. Chuck looked up at the same moment and gave Morgan a blank, yet petrified stare.

"Chuck, what the hell are you doing?" Morgan rushed over to the desk and turned the briefcase around as if to examine if any damage had been done.

"I dunno, I guess I just thought maybe whatever's in that case might give us some clues, you know…" He trailed off.

"_US_? Give _us_ some clues?" Morgan screeched, "You leave me out of this Chuck! This is NOT my investigation. I am not taking any chances here! Do you realize I could get fired for this? I could get fired for this Chuck!"

"Morgan I'm-I'm sorry, I…"

Morgan held up his hand, and turned away, shaking his head, "Just go home Chuck."

Chuck took a breath to say something else, but Morgan held up his hand to stop him again, so he sighed bewilderingly and exited the office.

Morgan grabbed the briefcase to put it back in its place, but when he grabbed the handle, the case opened wide, spilling the contents onto the floor. "Ahh, shit!" He muttered under his breath, bending over to pick up the spilled items. He knew they were private items, but there was really nothing he could do about seeing them, and what he saw shocked him. He picked them up and instead of putting them back in the briefcase where they belonged, he spread them out on the desk to get a better look.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Sarah checked her coat pockets for the third time, and then checked under the couch cushions for the fifth time. She simply could not find her cell phone. She brushed the hair out of her face and put her hand on her forehead in frustration. _Where on Earth did I put it?_

Then she remembered, in her office she had two chairs with a table in between them, and during her boring lunch hour, she had set the phone on that table. Oh well, it looked like she was going back to the office. That was okay though because she knew Morgan would still be there and she wanted to talk to him about some work that needed to be done the next day, as he always appreciated a heads-up.

When she entered her office, she saw Morgan sitting at her desk which was totally normal. But when she realized what he was doing, she gave a sharp, horrified gasp, "Morgan what are you doing?"

Morgan looked up, and he chuckled, "What am I doing? Huh, I think the better question Miss Walker is what are YOU doing?" He held some of the papers out at her as she took a seat in front of the desk, "Care to explain yourself? You've got pictures, notes, tapes, all having to do with Shaw. Sarah if I didn't know any better I'd think you were a crazy stalker!"

"Morgan it's not what it looks like, you see, I—I " Sarah faltered, "I…"

"You what?"

"Morgan I'm an FBI informant. I'm dating Daniel Shaw purely so that I can feed information of his criminal activities to the Feds."

Morgan stared at her silently and in shock. His eyes were bigger than the full moon which happened to be out that night.

"Well, say something?"

"Y-you're serious?" He finally managed to croak.

"Yeah I'm serious."

"Sarah this is awesome! This clears up everything! Just wait 'til I tell Chuck, he'll be so relieved and…."

"Morgan, Morgan no, wait, Chuck can't know. No one can know. Not even you can know. I need you to promise me that you can keep this a secret. Please, Morgan, I'm begging you. If there's ever a chance that I'll actually get to be with Chuck, this secret has to be kept. Do you understand?"

Morgan's excitement had died down and he hung his head and nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I understand, and I won't tell him." With that he shrugged and walked toward the door. Before exiting, he turned around, "You can trust me Sarah."

She nodded, "I know, Morgan, and thank you."

Morgan didn't say anything, he just turned and left. Sarah watched him go, and bit her lip to keep from crying. She hoped to God that she really could trust him because a Federal investigation and her future with the man she loved depended upon it.

x-x-x-x-x-x__

_**Well, it's been a long time coming hasn't it? **_

_**Big, huge, special thanks to BdaddyDL, ArmySFC, supesfan18, and Nirvana12. You all have been my lifesavers when it comes to not only this chapter, but the whole story!**_

_**Thanks to Rockchick4jc for her awesome beta job~**_

_**And I know you're all going to hate me but this is going to be the last chapter for a while. I need to stop writing indefinitely and take care of some personal matters. I do not know how long it will be before I start writing again, but be assured I do intend to finish this story if it's the last thing I do!**_

_**Until then, I will still be posting updates on Twitter. Follow me if you want SeaJay28.**_

_**Thank you all for reading,**_

_**SeaJay28**_


End file.
